Definition

1. Adverb:

   • From a higher to a lower position: Moving or directed toward a lower level or place.
   • To or at a lower level of intensity, amount, or activity: Decreasing or reducing.
   • In or into a state of inactivity, non-operation, or suppression: Not functioning or being brought under control.
   • In writing or on record: Recorded or noted.
   • As an immediate payment: Paid at the time of purchase.

2. Preposition:

   • From a higher to a lower point of: Moving along, through, or into at a lower level.
   • At or to a point farther along the course of: Along the course or path of something.

3. Adjective:

   • Directed or moving downward: In a lower position.
   • Being at a lower level or amount: Reduced from a previous state.
   • Depressed or dejected: In low spirits; sad.
   • Not functioning: Temporarily or permanently out of service.
   • Learned or mastered perfectly: Known thoroughly.
   • In sports, having been tackled or defeated: In American football, a play that ends or a score that is behind.

4. Verb:

   • To cause to fall or go down: To bring to the ground or defeat.
   • To consume quickly, especially by drinking: To swallow something rapidly.
   • To put or write down: To record in writing.

5. Noun:

   • Soft, fine feathers or hair: The soft underfeathers of birds or fine hair on some animals.
   • A rolling, treeless hill: An area of open, high land with little soil.
   • In American football, one of four attempts to advance the ball: A single play in a series.

Examples of Usage

• Adverb:

  • She looked down from the top of the building.
  • Please turn the volume down.
  • The system is down for maintenance.
  • I have your request written down.
  • He paid $100 down on the car.

• Preposition:

  • We walked down the street.
  • The store is down the road.

• Adjective:

  • The down escalator is on the left.
  • Sales are down this quarter.
  • He felt very down after hearing the news.
  • The network has been down all morning.
  • She has her lines down for the play.
  • It's third down with five yards to go.

• Verb:

  • The goalkeeper downed the striker with a clean tackle.
  • He downed his coffee in one gulp.
  • Please down your observations in the logbook.

• Noun:

  • The pillow was filled with goose down.
  • They went for a hike across the downs.
  • The team scored on the first down.

Advanced Usage

• "Down on one's luck": Experiencing a period of misfortune or bad luck.

  • After losing his job, he was really down on his luck.

• "Down the line": At a future point; later on.

  • We can make adjustments down the line if necessary.

• "Down to earth": Practical and realistic.

  • She's very successful but remains down to earth.

Variants and Related Words

• Downward (adv/adj): Moving or leading toward a lower place or level.
  • The path led downward into the valley.
• Downcast (adj): (Of eyes) looking downward; feeling sad or discouraged.
  • She sat with a downcast expression.
• Downturn (n): A decline in economic or business activity.
  • The economy is facing a downturn.

Synonyms

• Lower (adj/verb): Below in position; to cause to move downward.
• Depressed (adj): In low spirits; economically inactive.
• Consume (verb): To eat or drink something.
• Defeat (verb): To overcome in a contest.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Break down: To stop functioning; to lose emotional control; to separate into parts.

  • My car broke down on the highway.
  • She broke down in tears.

• Calm down: To become or make someone quieter and more relaxed.

  • Please calm down and tell me what happened.

• Cut down: To reduce the amount of something; to fell a tree.

  • I'm trying to cut down on sugar.
  • They had to cut down the old tree.

• Settle down: To become calm, quiet, or orderly; to establish a stable life.

  • The children finally settled down to sleep.
  • He wants to settle down and start a family.

Related Idioms

• Down in the dumps: Feeling unhappy or depressed.

  • He's been down in the dumps since his team lost.

• Down to the wire: Until the last possible moment.

  • The election was down to the wire.

• Get down to business: To start dealing with the important matters.

  • Let's get down to business and discuss the contract.

Verb

1. improve or perfect by pruning or polishing
   • refine one's style of writing
2. cause to come or go down
   • The policeman downed the heavily armed suspect
   • The mugger knocked down the old lady after she refused to hand over her wallet
3. shoot at and force to come down
   • the enemy landed several of our aircraft
4. bring down or defeat (an opponent)
5. eat immoderately
   • Some people can down a pound of meat in the course of one meal
6. drink down entirely
   • He downed three martinis before dinner
   • She killed a bottle of brandy that night
   • They popped a few beer after work

Adverb

1. in an inactive or inoperative state
   • the factory went down during the strike
   • the computer went down again
2. to a lower intensity
   • he slowly phased down the light until the stage was completely black
3. from an earlier time
   • the story was passed down from father to son
4. paid in cash at time of purchase
   • put ten dollars down on the necklace
5. away from a more central or a more northerly place
   • was sent down to work at the regional office
   • worked down on the farm
   • came down for the wedding
   • flew down to Florida
6. spatially or metaphorically from a higher to a lower level or position
   • don't fall down
   • rode the lift up and skied down
   • prices plunged downward

Adjective

1. filled with melancholy and despondency
   • gloomy at the thought of what he had to face
   • gloomy predictions
   • a gloomy silence
   • took a grim view of the economy
   • the darkening mood
   • lonely and blue in a strange city
   • depressed by the loss of his job
   • a dispirited and resigned expression on her face
   • downcast after his defeat
   • feeling discouraged and downhearted
2. not functioning (temporarily or permanently)
   • we can't work because the computer is down
3. shut
   • the shades were down
4. lower than previously
   • the market is depressed
   • prices are down
5. understood perfectly
   • had his algebra problems down
6. being put out by a strikeout
   • two down in the bottom of the ninth
7. becoming progressively lower
   • the down trend in the real estate market
8. extending or moving from a higher to a lower place
   • the down staircase
   • the downward course of the stream
9. being or moving lower in position or less in some value
   • lay face down
   • the moon is down
   • our team is down by a run
   • down by a pawn
   • the stock market is down today

Noun

1. fine soft dense hair (as the fine short hair of cattle or deer or the wool of sheep or the undercoat of certain dogs)
2. (usually plural) a rolling treeless highland with little soil
3. English physician who first described Down's syndrome (1828-1896)
4. (American football) a complete play to advance the football
   • you have four downs to gain ten yards
5. soft fine feathers