downstream

adverb or adjective

down·​stream ˈdau̇n-ˈstrēm 

1

: in the direction of or nearer to the mouth of a stream

floating downstream

located two miles downstream

2

: in or toward the latter stages of a usually industrial process or the stages (such as marketing) after manufacture

improving profits downstream

downstream products

3

biochemistry : toward the end of a series of cellular processes : following a linked molecular event occurring in a sequence

But by looking downstream of the tumor suppressors [genes] at the proteins they influence, drug developers hope to find good targets.

—Marcia Barinaga

Examples of downstream in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Flows on a popular section near Kremmling were near normal, as were water levels farther downstream in Glenwood Canyon. — Elise Schmelzer, Denver Post, 16 July 2026

This is also in addition to significant to catastrophic river flooding already ongoing in the Nueces, Frio, and Medina basins as floodwaters from earlier rains continue to move downstream, according to the National Weather Service. — Natassia Paloma, USA Today, 16 July 2026

The river dropped 60 feet between boulders in a series of falls and continued downstream in a dangerous half mile of holes and boils. — John Todd, Outdoor Life, 9 July 2026

The real question isn’t whether AI labs can move downstream and compete directly with their customers. — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 9 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1591, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for downstream

• abeam
• airstream
• bloodstream
• daydream
• esteem
• extreme
• grapheme
• hakim
• hornbeam
• lexeme
• mainstream
• midstream

Kids Definition

downstream

adverb or adjective

down·​stream ˈdau̇n-ˈstrēm 

: in the direction a stream is flowing

Medical Definition

downstream

adverb or adjective

down·​stream ˌdau̇n-ˈstrēm 

1

: in the same direction along a molecule of DNA or RNA as that in which transcription and translation take place and toward the end having a hydroxyl group attached to the position labeled 3′ in the terminal nucleotide

a nucleotide sequence located downstream from the regulatory gene

effects on the expression of downstream genes

compare upstream sense 1

2

: toward the end of a series of cellular processes : following a linked molecular event occurring in a sequence

But by looking downstream of the tumor suppressors [genes] at the proteins they influence, drug developers hope to find good targets.

—Marcia Barinaga, Science

The tyrosine kinase activity of phosphorylated EGFR [epidermal growth factor receptor] in cancer cells results in the phosphorylation of downstream proteins that incite cell proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and inhibition of apoptosis.

—Jonathan E. Dowell and John D. Minna, The New England Journal of Medicine