down

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Contents

English [edit]

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Pronunciation [edit]

Etymology 1 [edit]

Middle English doun, from Old English dūn, from British Celtic dunon 'hill; hillfort' (compare Welsh din 'hill', Irish dún 'hill, fort'), from Proto-Indo-European *dheue or dhwene. More at town; akin to dune.

Noun [edit]

down (countable and uncountable; plural downs)

  1. (archaic except in place-names) Hill, rolling grassland
    Churchill Downs, Upson Downs (from Auntie Mame, by Patrick Dennis).
  2. (usually plural) Field, especially for racing.
Translations [edit]
hill, rolling grassland
field, especially for racing
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Etymology 2 [edit]

Old English dūne, aphetic form of adūne, from of dūne (“off the hill”).

Adverb [edit]

down (incomparable and comparable), (comparative farther down, superlative farthest down)

  1. (comparable) From a higher position to a lower one; downwards.
    The cat jumped down from the table.
  2. (comparable) At a lower place or position.
    His place is farther down the road.
  3. South (as south is at the bottom of typical maps).
    I went down to Miami for a conference.
  4. (Ireland) Away from the city (even if the location is to the North).
    He went down to Cavan.
    Down on the farm.
    Down country.
  5. Into a state of non-operation.
    The computer has been shut down.
    They closed the shop down.
    The up escalator is down.
  6. (rail transport) The direction leading away from the principal terminus, away from milepost zero.
  7. (sentence substitute) Get down.
    Down, boy! (said to a dog)
  8. (UK, academia) Away from Oxford or Cambridge.
    He's gone back down to Newcastle for Christmas.
Antonyms [edit]
  • (From a higher position to a lower one): up
  • (At a lower place): up
  • (Ireland: Away from the city): up
  • (Into a state of non-operation): up
  • (Rail transport: direction leading away from the principal terminus): up
Derived terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
from a high to a low position, downwards
in a lower position
south
away from the city
into a state of non-operation
away from principal terminus in railroads
sentence substitute for "get down"
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Preposition [edit]

down

  1. From the higher end to the lower of.
    The ball rolled down the hill.
  2. From one end to another of.
    The bus went down the street.
    They walked down the beach holding hands.
Antonyms [edit]
  • (From the higher end to the lower): up
Derived terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
from one end to another

Adjective [edit]

down (comparative more down, superlative most down)

  1. Depressed, feeling low.
    So, things got you down? / Is Rodney Dangerfield giving you no respect? / Well, bunky, cheer up!
  2. On a lower level than before.
    The stock market is down.
    Prices are down.
  3. 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.
    At 5-1 down, she produced a great comeback to win the set on a tiebreak.
  4. (colloquial) With "on", negative about, hostile to
    Ever since Nixon, I've been down on Republicans.
  5. (not comparable, US, slang)Frequently used prior to "with" or "to", relaxed about, accepting of
    Are you down to hang out at the mall Jamal?
    As long as you're down with helping me pick a phone Tyrone.
  6. (not comparable) Inoperable; out of order; out of service.
    The system is down.
  7. finished (of a task)
    Two down and three to go. (Two tasks completed and three more still to be done.)
  8. Committed to memory; memorised, in phrases like:
    It's two weeks until opening night and our lines are still not down yet.
Antonyms [edit]
  • (Depressed): up
  • (On a lower level): up
  • (Having a lower score): up
  • (Inoperable): up
Translations [edit]
depressed
on a lower level than before
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb [edit]

down (third-person singular simple present downs, present participle downing, simple past and past participle downed)

  1. (transitive) To drink or swallow, especially without stopping before the vessel containing the liquid is empty.
    He downed an ale and ordered another.
  2. (transitive) To cause to come down; to knock down or subdue.
    The storm downed several old trees along the highway.
    • Sir Philip Sidney
      To down proud hearts.
    • Madame D'Arblay
      I remember how you downed Beauclerk and Hamilton, the wits, once at our house.
  3. (transitive, pocket billiards) To put a ball in a pocket; to pot a ball.
    He downed two balls on the break.
  4. (transitive, American football) To bring a play to an end by touching the ball to the ground or while it is on the ground.
    He downed it at the seven-yard line.
  5. (transitive) To write off; to make fun of.
  6. (obsolete, intransitive) To go down; to descend.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of John Locke to this entry?)
Synonyms [edit]
Translations [edit]
to drink or swallow
to pot a ball
to drop

Noun [edit]

down (plural downs)

  1. a negative aspect; a downer.
    I love almost everything about my job. The only down is that I can't take Saturdays off.
  2. (dated) A grudge (on someone).
    • 1974, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, New York 2007, p. 10:
      She had a down on me. I don't know what for, I'm sure; because I never said a word.
  3. An act of swallowing an entire drink in one.
  4. (American football) 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.
  5. (crosswords) 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.
Translations [edit]
American football – a single play

Derived terms [edit]

Terms derived from the adjective, adverb, preposition, noun, or verb down

References [edit]

  • Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "Spatial particles of orientation", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition, Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8

Etymology 3 [edit]

From Old Norse dún.

Noun [edit]

down (plural downs)

  1. Soft, fluffy immature feathers which grow on young birds. Used as insulating material in duvets, sleeping bags and jackets.
Translations [edit]
soft, immature feathers

Statistics [edit]

Dutch [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From English down.

Pronunciation [edit]

  • IPA: /dʌu̯n/

Adjective [edit]

down (used only predicatively, comparative meer down, superlative meest down)

  1. Down, depressed.

Synonyms [edit]

Anagrams [edit]

German [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From English down.

Adjective [edit]

down (not comparable)

  1. Down, depressed.
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