Meaning of down in English
Table of contents
Verb
downDefinitions
1. drink down entirelyExamples
- « He downed three martinis before dinner »
- « She killed a bottle of brandy that night »
- « They popped a few beer after work »
- 2. eat immoderately
Examples
- « Some people can down a pound of meat in the course of one meal »
Derived terms
- 3. bring down or defeat (an opponent)
- 4. shoot at and force to come down
Examples
- « the enemy landed several of our aircraft »
Derived terms
- 5. cause to come or go down
Examples
- « The policeman downed the heavily armed suspect »
- « The mugger knocked down the old lady after she refused to hand over her wallet »
Derived terms
- 6. improve or perfect by pruning or polishing
Examples
- « refine one's style of writing »
Derived terms
Classifying Adjective
downDefinitions
1. understood perfectlyExamples
- « had his algebra problems down »
Synonyms
- 2. shut
Examples
- « the shades were down »
Synonyms
- 3. cut down
Examples
- « the tree is down »
Synonyms
- 4. not functioning (temporarily or permanently)
Examples
- « we can't work because the computer is down »
Synonyms
- 5. the fractional price paid in cash at time of purchase
Examples
- « the down payment »
- « a payment of $200 down »
Synonyms
Adverb
downEtymology
Old English dūn, dūne, shortened from adūne ‘downward’, from the phrase of dūne ‘off the hill’ (see down)Definitions
1. spatially or metaphorically from a higher to a lower level or positionExamples
- « don't fall down »
- « rode the lift up and skied down »
- « prices plunged downward »
Antonyms
- 2. away from a more central or a more northerly place
Examples
- « was sent down to work at the regional office »
- « worked down on the farm »
- « came down for the wedding »
- « flew down to Florida »
Antonyms
- 3. paid in cash at time of purchase
Examples
- « put ten dollars down on the necklace »
- 4. from an earlier time
Examples
- « the story was passed down from father to son »
- 5. to a lower intensity
Examples
- « he slowly phased down the light until the stage was completely black »
Antonyms
- 6. in an inactive or inoperative state
Examples
- « the factory went down during the strike »
- « the computer went down again »
Noun
downEtymology
Middle English: from Old Norse dúnnDefinitions
1. soft fine feathers- 2. (American football) a complete play to advance the football
Examples
- « you have 4 downs to gain 10 yards »
- 3. English physician who first described Down's syndrome (1828-1896)
- 4. (usually plural) a rolling treeless highland with little soil
- 5. fine soft dense hair (as the fine short hair of cattle or deer or the wool of sheep or the undercoat of certain dogs)
Qualitative Adjective
downDefinitions
1. being or moving lower in position or less in some valueExamples
- « lay face down »
- « the moon is down »
- « our team is down by a run »
- « down by a pawn »
- « the stock market is down today »
Synonyms
Antonyms
Famous quotes
- « Don't you have a machine that puts food into the mouth and pushes it down? » Nikita Khrushchev
- « We smile at the ignorance of the savage who cuts down the tree in order to reach its fruit but the same blunder is made by every person who is over eager and impatient in the pursuit of pleasure. » William Ellery Channing
- « There's no hope of me becoming completely relaxed on stage. If I did, I'd sit down and doze off. » Robert Smith
- « If an Internet company steals content, they shut it down. And let me tell you, Apple France, Yahoo France or Google France, none of them have gone out of business. » Harvey Weinstein
- « Jody Hill, who I created 'Eastbound And Down' and 'Fist Foot Way' with, was my best man at my wedding. » Danny McBride