Down meaning

What does “down” mean? Definitions, examples, synonyms and opposites.

“down” is a noun, verb, adjective and adverb with 26 meanings. Its most common meaning is: soft fine feathers.

down

soft fine feathers
Synonymsdown feather
(American football) a complete play to advance the football
“you have four downs to gain ten yards”
English physician who first described Down's syndrome (1828-1896)
SynonymsJohn L. H. Down
(usually plural) a rolling treeless highland with little soil
fine soft dense hair (as the fine short hair of cattle or deer or the wool of sheep or the undercoat of certain dogs)
Synonymspile

drink down entirely
“He downed three martinis before dinner”
“She killed a bottle of brandy that night”
Synonymstoss off pop bolt down belt down pour down drink down kill
eat up completely, as with great appetite
“Some people can down a pound of meat in the course of one meal”
“The teenagers demolished four pizzas among them”
Synonymsdevour demolish consume go through
bring down or defeat (an opponent)
shoot at and force to come down
“the enemy landed several of our aircraft”
Synonymsshoot down land
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”
Synonymsknock down cut down push down pull down
improve or perfect by pruning or polishing
“refine one's style of writing”
Synonymspolish refine fine-tune

being or moving lower in position or less in some value
“lay face down”
“the moon is down”
Oppositesup
extending or moving from a higher to a lower place
“the down staircase”
“the downward course of the stream”
Synonymsdownward
becoming progressively lower
“the down trend in the real estate market”
being put out by a strikeout
“two down in the bottom of the ninth”
understood perfectly
“had his algebra problems down”
Synonymsdown pat mastered
lower than previously
“the market is depressed”
“prices are down”
Synonymsdepressed
shut
“the shades were down”
not functioning (temporarily or permanently)
“we can't work because the computer is down”
filled with melancholy and despondency
“gloomy at the thought of what he had to face”
“gloomy predictions”
Synonymsgloomy grim blue depressed dispirited downcast downhearted down in the mouth

spatially or metaphorically from a higher to a lower level or position
“don't fall down”
“rode the lift up and skied down”
Synonymsdownwards downward downwardly
Oppositesup
away from a more central or a more northerly place
“was sent down to work at the regional office”
“worked down on the farm”
Oppositesup
paid in cash at time of purchase
“put ten dollars down on the necklace”
from an earlier time
“the story was passed down from father to son”
to a lower intensity
“he slowly phased down the light until the stage was completely black”
Oppositesup
in an inactive or inoperative state
“the factory went down during the strike”
“the computer went down again”

Source: WordNet 3.1, Princeton University