downer

noun

down·​er ˈdau̇-nər 

plural downers

1

: a depressant drug

especially : barbiturate

… would often take the stage stoned on downers or high on acid …

—Peter Keough

Suppressant drugs, referred to as "downers", help create feelings of relaxation and tiredness rather than the high that people get from taking "uppers" …

—Izzy Lyons

2

: someone or something depressing, disagreeable, or unsatisfactory

Rain, biting insects, and soggy ground are other downers that keep me under cover.

—Norman Strung

Losing in their conference tournaments was a major downer for the NC State and East Carolina baseball teams.

—Brett Friedlander

3

: a weak, sick, or lame domesticated animal (such as a cow or pig) that is down and cannot get up

… the USDA last week instituted a series of measures to reassure consumers that American beef is safe, including a ban on the slaughter of cattle too sick or injured to walk, called downers, for human food.

—Cathy Booth Thomas

—often used before another noun

a downer cow

Synonyms of downer

• accident
• bore
• down
• bummer

Examples of downer in a Sentence

I took some downers to help me sleep.

“His cat just died.” “Oh, that's a real downer.”

Our conversation about death was a bit of a downer.

Recent Examples on the Web

Upper’s a downer But Blue Origin could not celebrate the achievement for long. —Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 19 Apr. 2026

Fortunately, Sanctions balances its downer tendencies with moments of levity and peculiar arrangements that only Souled American could have concocted. —Zach Schonfeld, Pitchfork, 17 Apr. 2026

What’s good for United could be a downer for travelers, and traditionally, anything that shrinks the list of rivals linking the same two metros from a longer roster to just one or two raises red flags for regulators. —Shawn Tully, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2026

That's a downer for the vloggers and selfie fans, but not a serious drawback for photography and videography shot from behind the camera. —Jim Fisher, PC Magazine, 6 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1886, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for downer

• browner
• towner

Kids Definition

downer

noun

down·​er ˈdau̇n-ər 

1

: a depressant drug

especially : barbiturate

2

: something that is depressing, disagreeable, or unsatisfactory

Medical Definition

downer

noun

down·​er ˈdau̇-nər 

: a depressant drug

especially : barbiturate