down·vote
ˈdau̇n-ˌvōt 
plural downvotes
: a vote made by clicking an on-screen icon to signify one's disagreement with or disapproval of an online comment or post
Since being posted it has accumulated 683,000 downvotes. This comment is hated on a scale that no other comment in Reddit history has reached.—
Zack Zwiezen
Zack Zwiezena downvote button
compare upvote entry 1
downvoted; downvoting; downvotes
: to signify one's disapproval of or disagreement with (an online comment or post) by clicking an on-screen icon
The post was downvoted by hundreds of people.
Users swipe up to browse content and can upvote, downvote, comment, and share the videos.—BRG.com
compare upvote entry 2
BRG.comExamples of downvote in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Tom Bartlett, The Atlantic, 2 May 2025
With an upvote and downvote system, Reddit prioritizes content deemed valuable or relevant by its community, fostering active participation and discussions.
—Rodney Mason, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
Maybe the protocol supports downvotes, but Bluesky, the social network that people are on, never shows it to anybody or doesn’t support that feature of the protocol itself.
—Nilay Patel, The Verge, 25 Mar. 2024
Now, if a post gets more than five downvotes, it’s automatically deleted, according to the company’s website.
—Kaitlyn Schwanemann, CNN, 2 Mar. 2024
The platform's unique feature is its upvote and downvote system, which allows users to rate and rank content based on its popularity and relevance.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 6 July 2023
The downvote wasn’t Twitter’s only rollout this week.
—Sarah Sarder, USA TODAY, 5 Feb. 2022
Twitter took a step Thursday toward adding a prominent new feature: a downvote button.
—NBC News, 4 Feb. 2022
Only Twitter itself and the user who cast the vote can see the downvote—neither the user who posted the reply nor the one who posted the parent tweet can view them.
—Tim De Chant, Ars Technica, 4 Feb. 2022
James Peckham, PC Magazine, 13 June 2025
These notes are then reviewed by other users, who can upvote or downvote the contributions based on their helpfulness and accuracy.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 9 Jan. 2025
This might be a rare perspective (that user, alas, was ruthlessly downvoted).
—Aja Romano, Vox, 4 Sep. 2024
But Microsoft Bing's feedback buttons are more visible and appear at the top of the AI section, while Google's AI Overviews have their upvote or downvote buttons hidden beneath an expandable section that has to be clicked on by the user to be seen.
—Kate Irwin, PCMAG, 25 July 2024
Users can submit posts, links, images, and videos that other members upvote or downvote.
—Luisa Beltran, Fortune, 20 Mar. 2024
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Noun
In an age of social media dominated by algorithms, Reddit took pride in being curated by a community that expressed its feelings in the form of upvotes and downvotes—in other words, being shaped by actual people.
—Tom Bartlett, The Atlantic, 2 May 2025
With an upvote and downvote system, Reddit prioritizes content deemed valuable or relevant by its community, fostering active participation and discussions.
—Rodney Mason, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
Maybe the protocol supports downvotes, but Bluesky, the social network that people are on, never shows it to anybody or doesn’t support that feature of the protocol itself.
—Nilay Patel, The Verge, 25 Mar. 2024
Now, if a post gets more than five downvotes, it’s automatically deleted, according to the company’s website.
—Kaitlyn Schwanemann, CNN, 2 Mar. 2024
The platform's unique feature is its upvote and downvote system, which allows users to rate and rank content based on its popularity and relevance.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 6 July 2023
The downvote wasn’t Twitter’s only rollout this week.
—Sarah Sarder, USA TODAY, 5 Feb. 2022
Twitter took a step Thursday toward adding a prominent new feature: a downvote button.
—NBC News, 4 Feb. 2022
Only Twitter itself and the user who cast the vote can see the downvote—neither the user who posted the reply nor the one who posted the parent tweet can view them.
—Tim De Chant, Ars Technica, 4 Feb. 2022
Verb
There's a new upvote ratio that will give you a clearer idea of how many times your comment has been both upvoted and downvoted.
—James Peckham, PC Magazine, 13 June 2025
These notes are then reviewed by other users, who can upvote or downvote the contributions based on their helpfulness and accuracy.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 9 Jan. 2025
This might be a rare perspective (that user, alas, was ruthlessly downvoted).
—Aja Romano, Vox, 4 Sep. 2024
But Microsoft Bing's feedback buttons are more visible and appear at the top of the AI section, while Google's AI Overviews have their upvote or downvote buttons hidden beneath an expandable section that has to be clicked on by the user to be seen.
—Kate Irwin, PCMAG, 25 July 2024
Users can submit posts, links, images, and videos that other members upvote or downvote.
—Luisa Beltran, Fortune, 20 Mar. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Downvote.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/downvote. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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