down

adverb23

1. •
   from a higher place to a lower one

   • The cat jumped down from the table.
2. •
   In a downwards direction; vertically.

   • I'm stuck on 11 down.
3. •
   Get down.

   • Down, boy! (such as to direct a dog to stand on four legs from two, or to sit from standing on four legs.)
4. •
   So as to lessen quantity, level or intensity.

   • You need to tone down the rhetoric.
   • Please turn the music down!
5. •
   So as to reduce size, weight or volume.

   • Trim the stick down to a length of about twelve inches.
   • Thanks to my strict diet, I've slimmed down to eleven stone.
6. •
   At a lower or further place or position along a set path.

   • His place is farther down the road.
   • The company was well down the path to bankruptcy.
7. •
   To the south (as south is at the bottom of typical maps).

   • I went down to Miami for a conference.
8. •
   Away from the city (regardless of direction).

   • He went down to Cavan.
9. •
   At or towards any place that is visualised as 'down' by virtue of local features or local convention, or arbitrarily, irrespective of direction or elevation change.

   • She lives down by the park.
10. •
    Forward, straight ahead.

    • At the first intersection turn left and walk down, then turn right.
11. •
    In the direction leading away from the principal terminus, away from milepost zero.
12. •
    Towards the opponent's side (in ball-sports).

    • By moving further down the pitch, the batsman lengthens the distance between the ball and the stumps. — 2005
13. •
    (UK, old-fashioned) Away from Oxford or Cambridge.

    • He's gone back down to Newcastle for Christmas.
14. •
    On paper (or in a durable record).

    • You need to write down what happened while it's still fresh in your mind.
15. •
    Into a state of non-operation.

    • The computer has been shut down.
    • They closed the shop down.
16. •
    To or towards what is considered the bottom of something, irrespective of whether this is presently physically lower.

    • Go down to the bottom of the page.
    • As I lay on my back, a pain shot down from my neck to my waist.
17. •
    So as to secure or compress something to the floor, ground, or other (usually horizontal) surface.

    • We need to nail down this carpet so people don't keep tripping over it.
18. •
    Used with verbs to indicate that the action of the verb was carried to some state of completion, permanence, or success rather than being of indefinite duration.

    • He closed operations. / He closed down operations.
    • He chased answers. / He chased down answers.
19. •
    To a subordinate or less prestigious position or rank.

    • Smith was sent down to the minors to work on his batting.
    • After the incident, Kelly went down to Second Lieutenant.
20. •
    From a remoter or higher antiquity.

    • These traditions have been handed down over generations.
21. •
    As a down payment.

    • We put £100 down on a new sofa.
    • You can have it, no money down.
22. •
    So as to be cowed into silence.

    • The speaker was heckled and shouted down.
    • The comedy club's audience was known for hooting down timid performers.
23. •
    From less to greater detail.

    • This spreadsheet lets you drill down to daily or even hourly sales figures.

adjective[after a verb]20

1. •
   At a lower level than before.

   • The stock market is down.
   • Prices are down.
2. •
   Sick, wounded, or damaged.
3. •
   Sick or ill.

   • He is down with the flu.
4. •
   Stranded in a recumbent position; unable to stand.
5. •
   Inoperable; out of order; out of service.

   • The system is down.
6. •
   (slang) Wounded and unable to move normally, or killed.

   • We have an officer down outside the suspect's house.
   • There are three soldiers down and one walking wounded.
7. •
   (slang) Mechanically failed, collided, shot down, or otherwise suddenly unable to fly.

   • We have a chopper down near the river.
8. •
   (informal) Sad, unhappy, depressed, feeling low.

   • Mary seems very down since she split up with her boyfriend.
   • Been down so long it seems like up to me
9. •
   Having a lower score than an opponent.

   • They are down by 3–0 with just 5 minutes to play.
   • He was down by a bishop and a pawn after 15 moves.
10. •
    (US, slang) Comfortable [with]; accepting [of]; okay [with].

    • He's chill enough; he'd probably be totally down with it.
    • Asker: Are you down to hang out at the mall? / Answerer: Yeah, as long as you're down with helping me pick a phone.
11. •
    Finished (of a task); defeated or dealt with (of an opponent or obstacle); elapsed (of time). Often coupled with to go (remaining).

    • Two down and three to go.
    • Ten minutes down and nothing's happened yet.
12. •
    (informal) Out.

    • Two down and one to go in the bottom of the ninth.
13. •
    Thoroughly practiced, learned or memorised; mastered. (Compare down pat.)

    • It's two weeks until opening night and our lines are still not down yet.
14. •
    Facing downwards.

    • Turn the cloth over so that the patterned side is down.
15. •
    (informal) Negative about; hostile to.

    • She's been down on clams since a bad case of food poisoning; she's lost her appetite for them.
16. •
    Fallen or felled.

    • Left again at 1.05 p.m., and for two miles it was over rolling county with easy grades, but a good deal of down timber. — 1897
17. •
    Travelling in the direction leading away from the principal terminus, away from milepost zero.

    • The down train leaves at 10:05.
18. •
    (slang) In prison.

    • I'm a TS who has been down for over 5 years and will be going up for parole in the next 1 to 3 years. — 1988
19. •
    (slang) Accepted, respected, or loyally participating in the (thug) community.

    • What you mean, 'No'? Man, I thought you was down.
20. •
    (no longer used) Downright; absolute; positive.

    • This, he must give me leave to tell him, is an absolute, right down—falsehood. — 1764

noun[after a verb]17

1. •
   A single play, from the time the ball is snapped (the start) to the time the whistle is blown (the end) when the ball is down, or is downed.

   • I bet after the third down, the kicker will replace the quarterback on the field.
2. •
   Soft, fluffy immature feathers which grow on young birds. Used as insulating material in duvets, sleeping bags and jackets.
3. •
   The pubescence of plants; the hairy crown or envelope of the seeds of certain plants, such as the thistle.

   • No candle should light it, neither should any flower adorn it, save for several dried stalks of old and withered thistles, their heads pale with silken down, held in a common glass jar. — 1998
4. •
   The soft hair of the face when beginning to appear.

   • But love him as he was, when youthful Grace, And the first Down began to shade his face — 1717
5. •
   A negative aspect; a downer, a downside.

   • I love almost everything about my job. The only down is that I can't take Saturdays off.
6. •
   Down payment.
7. •
   A clue whose solution runs vertically in the grid.

   • I haven't solved 12 or 13 across, but I've got most of the downs.
8. •
   (Australia) A hill; in England, especially a chalk hill.

   • We went for a walk over the downs.
   • The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England.
9. •
   [in the plural, after a verb] (UK) A tract of poor, sandy, undulating or hilly land near the sea, covered with fine turf which serves chiefly for the grazing of sheep.
10. •
    A downer, depressant.

    • I am on drugs that I don't need to be on. They feel if I'm on a lot of downs, then I won't complain about my prison life — 1984
11. •
    That which is made of down, as a bed or pillow; that which affords ease and repose, like a bed of down.

    • Thou bosom Softness! Down of all my Cares! I cou'd recline my thoughts upon this Breast To a forgetfulness of all my Griefs, And yet be happy: but it wonnot be. — 1696
12. •
    The lightest quark with a charge number of −¹⁄₃.
13. •
    A downstairs room of a two-story house.

    • She lives in a two-up two-down.
14. •
    An act of swallowing an entire drink at once.
15. •
    [usually plural, after a verb] A field, especially one used for horse racing.
16. •
    The shift or period of time during which a dealer manages a given table before rotating to the next table at a casino or cardroom, which is often 30 minutes.
17. •
    (old-fashioned) A grudge (on someone).

    • She had a down on me. I don't know what for, I'm sure; because I never said a word. — 1974

verb[after a verb]10

1. •
   To knock (someone or something) down; to cause to come down; to fell.

   • The storm downed several old trees along the highway.
   • A single rifle shot downed the mighty beast.
2. •
   (informal) To drink or swallow, especially without stopping before the vessel containing the liquid is empty.

   • He downed an ale and ordered another.
3. •
   Specifically, to cause (something in the air) to fall to the ground; to bring down (with a missile etc.).

   • The helicopter was downed by a surface-to-air missile.
4. •
   (figurative) To defeat; to overpower.

   • To down proud hearts that would not willing die. — 1725
5. •
   To lower; to put (something) down.

   • The bell rang for lunch, and the workers downed their tools.
6. •
   (informal) To disparage; to put down.

   • ‘I remember how you downed Beauclerk and Hamilton, the Wits, once at our House, – when they talked of Ghosts.’ — 1779
7. •
   To render (the ball) dead, typically by touching the ground while in possession.

   • He downed it at the seven-yard line.
8. •
   To sink (a ball) into a hole or pocket.

   • He downed two balls on the break.
9. •
   To cover, ornament, line, or stuff with down.

   • What pain to quit the world, just made their own, Their nest so deeply downed, and built so high ! — 1742
10. •
    (no longer used, rare) To go or come down; to descend.

    • ...that is, that the trade of the world is too little for us two, therefore one must down. — 1933

preposition6

1. •
   From the higher end to the lower of.

   • The ball rolled down the hill.
2. •
   From one end to another of (in any direction); along.

   • The bus went down the street.
   • They walked down the beach holding hands.
3. •
   Towards the mouth of (a river); in the direction of flow of.

   • In this game we float sticks down the river.
4. •
   (UK, Ireland) At (a given place that is seen as removed from one's present location or other point of reference).

   • I'll see you later down the pub.
5. •
   (UK, Ireland) To (a given place that is seen as removed from one's present location or other point of reference).

   • I'm going down the shops.
6. •
   From north to south of.

   • We sailed down the eastern seaboard.

noun1

1. •
   One of the six traditional counties of Northern Ireland, usually known as County Down.