down

1 of 8

adverb

1
a(1)
: toward or in a lower physical position
Don't look down.
Pull down the blind.
(2)
: to a lying or sitting position
Please sit down.
(3)
: toward or to the ground, floor, or bottom
burned the house down
fell down
b
: as a down payment
paid $10 down
c
: on paper
put down what he says
2
: in a direction that is the opposite of up: such as
a
: southward
traveled down to South Africa
b
: to or toward a point away from the speaker or the speaker's point of reference
walked down to my neighbor's house
c
: in or into the stomach
can't keep food down
3
: to a lesser degree, level, or rate
cool down tensions
Try to calm down.
4
: to or toward a lower position in a series
seems to be far down on their agenda
moved down in the pop charts
5
a
: to or in a lower or worse condition or status
students held down by a lack of social support
b
used to indicate thoroughness or completion
dusted down the house
described him down to his haircut
6
: from a past time
stories passed down by word of mouth
7
: to or in a state of less activity or prominence
scaled down our plans
8
: to a concentrated state
got the report down to three pages
9
: into defeat
voted the motion down

down

2 of 8

preposition

: down (see down entry 1) along, around, through, toward, in, into, or on
fell down the stairs
write down the phone number
down the years
grew up down the block from each other
pacing up and down the room

down

3 of 8

verb

downed; downing; downs

transitive verb

1
: to cause to go or come down (see down entry 1) : such as
a
: to cause to fall by or as if by shooting : bring down sense 1
downed the enemy helicopter
b
: consume sense 3
downing slices of pizza
2
football : to cause (a ball) to be out of play
downed the ball at the five-yard line
3
: defeat
down a proposal

intransitive verb

: to go down

down

4 of 8

adjective

1
a(1)
: occupying a low position
specifically : lying on the ground
down timber
(2)
: directed or going downward
attendance is down
b
: lower in price
c
football : not being in play because of wholly stopped progress or because the officials stop the play
The ball was down.
d
: defeated or trailing an opponent (as in points scored)
down by two runs
e
baseball : out
two down in the top of the third inning
2
a
: reduced or low in activity, frequency, or intensity
a down economy
b
: not operating or able to function
The computer is down.
c
: depressed, dejected
feeling a bit down
also : depressing
a down movie
d
: sick
down with flu
3
: done, finished
eight down and two to go
4
: completely mastered
had her lines down
often used with pat
got the answers down pat
5
a
slang : cool sense 7
a down dude
b
slang : understanding or supportive of something or someone
usually used with with
trying to prove that they were down with hip-hop cultureJ. E. White
6
: being on record
you're down for two tickets

down

5 of 8

noun (1)

1
: descent, depression
emotional ups and downs
the ups and downs of the business cycle
2
: an instance of putting down someone (such as an opponent in wrestling)
3
football
a
: a complete play to advance the ball
b
: one of a series of four attempts in American football or three attempts in Canadian football to advance the ball 10 yards
caught the ball on third down
4
chiefly British : dislike, grudge
5
: downer
6
physics : a fundamental quark that has an electric charge of -¹/₃ and that is one of the constituents of a nucleon

down

6 of 8

noun (2)

1
: an undulating usually treeless upland with sparse soil
usually used in plural
sheep grazing on the grassy downs
2
often capitalized : a sheep of any breed originating in the downs of southern England

down

7 of 8

noun (3)

1
: a covering of soft fluffy feathers
also : these feathers
goose down pillows
2
: something soft and fluffy like down
a trace of down on his cheeks

Down

8 of 8

noun (4)

: down syndrome
usually used attributively
a Down baby
Phrases
down to the ground
: perfectly, completely
that suits me down to the ground
down on
: having a low opinion of or dislike for
The coach has been down on him lately.
down on one's luck
: experiencing misfortune and especially financial distress

Examples of down in a Sentence

Adverb The land slopes down to the sea. She called down to her friends in the street below. They set the cake down on the table. Lay down your book for a minute. We watched the sun go down. We keep our wine collection down in the basement. What's going on down there? He fell down and hurt his knee. Climb down out of that tree! He knocked him down with one punch. Preposition Sweat dripped down her neck. The children ran down the hill. She fell down the stairs. He climbed down the ladder. He spilled mustard down the front of his shirt. Her hair hung loosely down her back. Go down the road and turn left. We grew up down the block from each other. The bathroom is halfway down the hall on the right. His pitches were right down the middle of the plate. Verb The storm downed power lines throughout the city. a large number of downed power lines They were downing beers and watching the game on TV. The quarterback downed the ball to stop the clock. Adjective The window shades were down. The candy is down on the bottom shelf. There was a pile of dirty clothes down on the floor. She took the down escalator. These changes should help keep prices down. Stocks are down again today. Noun (1) a comforter filled with goose down Noun (2) lately it's been one down after another in my life I don't understand why she'd have such a down against me; we've never even spoken to each other! for years after the war her grandfather had an unshakable down on the Germans suffered with a psychological disorder in which she alternated between emotional ups and downs experienced the ups and downs of a career in showbiz Noun (3) hold a festival on the downs
Recent Examples on the Web
Adverb
There also can be different challenges associated with the medical condition and side effects of the surgery that can get even the strongest down. Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 19 Oct. 2024 While the bag might be great on the go, the smooth leather outer gives it an elevated touch, so it can easily be dressed up or down. Court Backpack $450 $159 at Coachoutlet.com This leather backpack is for those who don’t want to sacrifice style for function. Melony Forcier, Travel + Leisure, 19 Oct. 2024
Preposition
Listen to this article A siren screamed down 31st Street as six men faced one another in a dim church and began to chant. Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 20 Oct. 2024 Sitting in the front row, Morris shared his proud dad moment on Instagram with a video of Paige strutting down the catwalk. Giana Levy, People.com, 20 Oct. 2024
Verb
Moore points to research showing that downing a recovery drink containing carbohydrate and protein rather than just carbohydrate after a hard workout helps your muscles restock their glycogen—the form in which your muscles store carbohydrate—more rapidly. Alex Hutchinson, Outside Online, 15 Oct. 2024 Advertisement After making landfall as a Category 3 storm near Siesta Key, a barrier island in Sarasota County, Milton barreled east with powerful winds and tornadoes that downed trees, snapped power lines, flipped semitrucks and tossed houses off their foundations. Jenny Jarvie, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2024
Adjective
Shares of Disney were down about 1% Monday amid a down day for Wall Street overall. Paulina Likos, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2024 Once again, Nix’s shaky footwork impacts his down field throwing. Matt Schubert, The Denver Post, 17 Oct. 2024
Noun
Your mission will keep you motivated through entrepreneurship's inevitable ups and downs. Guadalupe Hayes-Mota, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024 Instead of releasing at midnight Pacific Time, Nick and Vanessa Lachey will get to unpack the ups and downs of this journey to find love alongside the Season 7 contestants starting at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. Lissete Lanuza Sáenz, StyleCaster, 23 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for down 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adverb, Preposition, Verb, Adjective, and Noun (1)

Middle English doun, from Old English dūne, short for adūne, of dūne, from a- (from of), of off, from + dūne, dative of dūn hill

Noun (2)

Middle English doun hill, from Old English dūn — see down entry 1

Noun (3)

Middle English doun, from Old Norse dūnn

First Known Use

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Preposition

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

circa 1586, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Adjective

1580, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Noun (1)

1647, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (3)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (4)

1987, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of down was before the 12th century

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near down

Cite this Entry

“Down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/down. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

down

1 of 7 noun
: a rolling grassy upland
usually used in plural

down

2 of 7 adverb
1
a
: toward or in a lower position
b
: to a lying or sitting position
c
: toward or to the ground, floor, or bottom
2
: as a down payment
paid $10 down
3
: in a direction opposite to up
add the numbers across and down
4
: to or in a lower or worse condition
held down by a bad economy
5
: from a past time
heirlooms that have been handed down
6
: to or in a state of less activity
excitement died down

down

3 of 7 adjective
1
a
: being in a low position
especially : lying on the ground
b
: directed or going downward
a down escalator
c
: being at a lower level
sales are down
2
a
: low in spirits : sad
feeling a bit down
b
: sick sense 1a
down with flu
3
: being finished or come to an end
eight down and two to go

down

4 of 7 preposition
: down along : down through : down toward : down in : down into : down on
down the road

down

5 of 7 noun
1
: a low or falling period
the ups and downs of life
2
: one of a series of four plays that a football team gets to advance the ball ten yards

down

6 of 7 verb
1
: to go or cause to go or come down
2
3
: to cause (a football) to be out of play

down

7 of 7 noun
1
: a covering of soft fluffy feathers
2
: something soft and fluffy like down
Etymology

Noun

Old English dūn "hill"

Adverb

Old English dūne "down," shortened from adūne, literally, "off the hill," from a- "off" and dūne, form of dūn "hill"

Noun

Middle English doun "down, feathers"; of Norse origin

Geographical Definition

Down

geographical name

1
district of southeastern Northern Ireland bordering the Irish Sea; established 1974 area 250 square miles (650 square kilometers), population 69,750
2
traditional county of southeastern Northern Ireland

More from Merriam-Webster on down

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!