down
IPA: dˈaʊn
noun
- A negative aspect; a downer, a downside.
- (dated) A grudge (on someone).
- An act of swallowing an entire drink at once.
- (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.
- (crosswords) A clue whose solution runs vertically in the grid.
- A downstairs room of a two-story house.
- Down payment.
- The lightest quark with a charge number of −¹⁄₃.
- (especially southern England) A hill, especially a chalk hill; rolling grassland
- (usually in the plural) A field, especially one used for horse racing.
- (UK, chiefly in the plural) A tract of poor, sandy, undulating or hilly land near the sea, covered with fine turf which serves chiefly for the grazing of sheep.
- Soft, fluffy immature feathers which grow on young birds. Used as insulating material in duvets, sleeping bags and jackets.
- (botany) The pubescence of plants; the hairy crown or envelope of the seeds of certain plants, such as the thistle.
- The soft hair of the face when beginning to appear.
- That which is made of down, as a bed or pillow; that which affords ease and repose, like a bed of down.
- One of the six traditional counties of Northern Ireland, usually known as County Down.
- A surname.
verb
- (transitive) To knock (someone or something) down; to cause to come down; to fell.
- (transitive) Specifically, to cause (something in the air) to fall to the ground; to bring down (with a missile etc.).
- (transitive) To lower; to put (something) down.
- (transitive, figurative) To defeat; to overpower.
- (transitive, colloquial) To disparage; to put down.
- (intransitive, rare or obsolete) To go or come down; to descend.
- (transitive, colloquial) To drink or swallow, especially without stopping before the vessel containing the liquid is empty.
- (transitive, American football, Canadian football) To render (the ball) dead, typically by touching the ground while in possession.
- (transitive, golf, pocket billiards) To sink (a ball) into a hole or pocket.
- (transitive) To cover, ornament, line, or stuff with down.
adjective
- Facing downwards.
- At a lower level than before.
- (informal) Sad, unhappy, depressed, feeling low.
- Sick, wounded, or damaged:
- (normally in the combination 'down with') Sick or ill.
- (not comparable, military, law enforcement, slang, of a person) Wounded and unable to move normally, or killed.
- (veterinary medicine, of a cow) Stranded in a recumbent position; unable to stand.
- (not comparable, military, aviation, slang, of an aircraft) Mechanically failed, collided, shot down, or otherwise suddenly unable to fly.
- (not comparable) Inoperable; out of order; out of service.
- Having a lower score than an opponent.
- (baseball, cricket, colloquial, following the noun modified) Out.
- (colloquial, with "on") Negative about; hostile to.
- (Canada, US, slang) Comfortable [with]; accepting [of]; okay [with].
- (African-American Vernacular, slang) Accepted, respected, or loyally participating in the (thug) community.
- Finished (of a task); defeated or dealt with (of an opponent or obstacle); elapsed (of time). Often coupled with to go (remaining).
- Thoroughly practiced, learned or memorised; mastered. (Compare down pat.)
- (obsolete) Downright; absolute; positive.
- (of a tree, limb, etc) Fallen or felled.
- (rail transport, of a train) Travelling in the direction leading away from the principal terminus, away from milepost zero.
adverb
- (comparable) From a higher position to a lower one; downwards.
- (comparable) At a lower or further place or position along a set path.
- As a down payment.
- On paper (or in a durable record).
- To the south (as south is at the bottom of typical maps).
- Away from the city (regardless of direction).
- 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.
- (sports) Towards the opponent's side (in ball-sports).
- Into a state of non-operation.
- To a subordinate or less prestigious position or rank.
- (rail transport) In the direction leading away from the principal terminus, away from milepost zero.
- (sentence substitute, imperative) Get down.
- (UK, academia, dated) Away from Oxford or Cambridge.
- From a remoter or higher antiquity.
- So as to lessen quantity, level or intensity.
- So as to reduce size, weight or volume.
- From less to greater detail.
- So as to secure or compress something to the floor, ground, or other (usually horizontal) surface.
- 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.
- Forward, straight ahead.
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Examples of "down" in Sentences
- "'The boy stood on the burning deck' -- _get down, get down_!" he yelled.
- The manager screamed at the top of his voice -- "_let down the valve, let it down_!"
- And I noticed, I started running down, unconsciously making my way down through the path which I see more clearly now.
- I'm afraid, Mr. Strange (DINAH _with an exclamation of annoyance comes down to_ L. _of settee_ L.), your morals are as peculiar as your views on Art. BRIAN (_down to back of table_ L.C.).
- I nodded off with my head on his chest, thinking I've never been happier, I'll never leave this man, I'll never leave this place, I'll never come down, never come down ... _never come down_.
- They can't discuss me in the library without breaking down -- (_coming down_ R. _and imitating_ GEORGE _and_ BRIAN) -- so they're walking up and down outside, and slashing at the thistles in order to conceal their emotion.
- Lord looseth the prisoners; the Lord openeth the eyes of the blind; the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down; the Lord loveth the righteous; the Lord relieveth the fatherless and the widow -- _but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down_.
- So he crossed the street as Reidi's men passed him and reined in against the wall of the estate next to Lieng, deaf to the hiss of arrows in the clatter of hooves on cobblestone as Reidi's men charged the main gate down the street and then shied off again, leaving a man and two horses down
- Half a dozen paces together with Dirk between them before Michael tripped and fell, dragging Mbenjane down with him, They were a long time rising, all movement slowing down_, when they did they were surrounded. long prongs of flame had reached the area of fallen sapling on either side of them.
- Promoted to Headline (H3) on 2/13/09: Terrorist in my home town 'with up so floating many bells down' yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = 'Terrorist in my home town \'with up so floating many bells down\' '; yahooBuzzArticleSummary =' Article: An out-of-work truckdriver brought a guitar case into a Unitarian church where I teach, pulled out a shotgun and shot eight people.
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