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   down

   /daʊn/

   adverb

   • 1. towards or in a lower place or position, especially to or on the ground or another surface: "she looked down" Similar towards a lower positiondownwardsdownstairstowards the bottomfrom top to bottomto the groundto the flooroverOpposite up
   • ▪ at or to a specified distance below: "you can plainly see the bottom 35 feet down" Similar in a lower positiondownstairsat the bottom
   • ▪ downstairs: "I went down to put the kettle on" Similar towards a lower positiondownwardsdownstairstowards the bottomfrom top to bottomin a lower positiondownstairsat the bottomOpposite up
   • ▪ expressing movement or position away from the north: "they're living down south"
   • ▪ to or at a place perceived as lower (often expressing casualness or lack of hurry): "I'd rather be down at the villa"
   • ▪ away from the capital or major city: British "there are eight trains a day, four up and four down"
   • ▪ away from a university, especially Oxford or Cambridge: British "he was down from Oxford"
   • ▪ (with reference to food or drink swallowed) in or into the stomach: "she couldn't keep anything down"
   • ▪ so as to lie or be fixed flush or flat: "she stuck down a Christmas label"
   • ▪ used as a command to a person or animal to sit or lie down: "down, boy!"
   • ▪ referring to a crossword answer which reads vertically: "how many letters in fifteen down?"
   • 2. to or at a lower level of intensity, volume, or activity: "keep the noise down"
   • ▪ to or at a lower price, value, or rank: "output was down by 20 per cent"
   • ▪ to a finer consistency, a smaller amount or size, or a simpler or more basic state: "I must slim down a bit"
   • ▪ from an earlier to a later point in time or order: "buildings in England down to 1540"
   • 3. in or into a weaker or worse position, mood, or condition: "the disclosures brought down some of the biggest names in the business"
   • ▪ losing or at a disadvantage by a specified amount: "United were 3–0 down"
   • ▪ used to express progress through a series of tasks or items: "one down and only six more to go"
   • ▪ (of a computer system) out of action or unavailable for use: "the system went down yesterday"
   • ▪ shouted to express strong dislike of a specified person or thing: "crowds chanted ‘Down with America!’"
   • 4. in or into writing: "Graham noted the numbers down carefully"
   • ▪ on or on to a list, schedule, or record: "I'll put you down for the evening shift"
   • 5. (with reference to partial payment of a sum of money) made initially or on the spot: "pay £5 down and the rest at the end of the month"
   • 6. (of sailing) with the current or the wind.
   • ▪ (of a ship's helm) moved round to leeward so that the rudder is to windward and the vessel swings toward the wind.
   • 7. (of the ball or a player in possession) not in play, typically through progress being stopped.

   preposition

   • 1. from a higher to a lower point of (something): "up and down the stairs" Similar lower in/onto the bottom ofOpposite up
   • ▪ at or to the part of (a river or stream) that is nearer the sea: "a dozen miles or so down the Thames"
   • ▪ moving or at a point further along the course of (something): "he lived down the street" Similar alongthroughout the length ofto the other end offrom one end of … to the otherthroughacrossby way ofvia
   • ▪ at or to (a place): informal "she was tired of going down the pub every night"
   • 2. throughout (a period of time): "astrologers down the ages" Similar throughoutthroughduringin

   adjective

   • 1. directed or moving towards a lower place or position: "the down escalator"
   • ▪ relating to or denoting trains travelling away from the main terminus: "we travelled on the first down train"
   • 2. unhappy or depressed: "he's been so down lately" Similar depressedsadsaddenedunhappymelancholymiserablewretchedsorrowfulgloomydejecteddownhearteddishearteneddespondentdispiritedlowin low spiritslow-spiritedheavy-heartedglummorosedismaldowncastcast downtearfulinformal:bluedown in the dumpsdown in the mouthfed upOpposite elated
   • 3. (of a computer system) temporarily out of action or unavailable: "sorry, but the computer's down" Similar not workingnot functioningnot functionalnot in working ordernot in operationinoperativemalfunctioningout of orderbrokenbroken-downacting upunserviceablefaultydefectivein disrepairnot in serviceunavailable for usenot in useout of actionout of commissioninformal:conked outbust(gone) kaputgone phuton the blinkgone haywireshotknackeredjiggeredwonkyon the fritzout of whackvulgar slang:buggeredOpposite working
   • 4. supporting or going along with someone or something: informal US "you got to be down with me"
   • ▪ aware of and following the latest fashion: "a seriously down, hip-hop homie"
   • 5. denoting a flavour (variety) of stable quark having relatively low mass and an electric charge of −1/3. In the Standard Model protons and neutrons are composed of up and down quarks.

   verb

   • 1. knock or bring to the ground: "175 enemy aircraft had been downed" Similar knock downknock overknock to the groundthrow to the groundbring downbring to the groundfelltoppleprostratetacklerugby-tackletrip upinformal:deckfloorflatten
   • ▪ put (the ball) out of play deliberately by touching one's knee to the ground while holding the ball or touching the ball itself to the ground: "Jones downed the ball in the end zone"
   • 2. consume (something, typically a drink): "he downed five pints of cider" Similar drink (up/down)gulp (down)guzzlequaffdrainimbibesupslurpsucksipswallowfinish offpolish offinformal:sinkswigswill (down)toss offslugknock backput awaykillneckscarf (down/up)snarf (down/up)chugrare:ingurgitate
   • ▪ sink (a putt): "he downed a 20-foot putt for victory"

   noun

   • 1. a period of unwelcome experiences or negative mood: informal "there had been more downs than ups during his years at the company" Similar setbacksupsetsreversesreversalsreversals of fortunedownturnsmishapsstrokes of ill luckstrokes of bad luckaccidentsshocksvicissitudescrisescatastrophestragediescalamitiestrialscrossesknocksburdensblowsbuffetsinformal:glitches(double) whammiesknock-backsarchaic:foilsfit of depressionperiod of despondencyinformal:the bluesthe dumpsone's black doga lowthe blahsa funka blue funkinformal, dated:the mopesliterary:dolourarchaic:the megrimsOpposite upshigh
   • 2. a chance for a team to advance the ball, ending when the ball carrier is tackled or the ball becomes out of play. A team must advance at least ten yards in a series of four downs in order to keep possession.

   Word Origin Old Englishdūn, dūne, shortened from adūne ‘downward’, from the phrase of dūne ‘off the hill’ (see down3).

   Scrabble Points: 8

   • D

     2

   • O

     1

   • W

     4

   • N

     1

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