Down — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adverb preposition verb adjective noun /ˈdau̇n/

Meaning & Definition of Down

Down (adverb)

  1. toward or in a lower physical position
  2. to a lying or sitting position
  3. toward or to the ground, floor, or bottom

Down (preposition)

  1. down along, around, through, toward, in, into, or on

Down (verb)

  1. to cause to go or come down
  2. to cause to fall by or as if by shooting, bring down
  3. consume

Down (adjective)

  1. occupying a low position; specifically, lying on the ground
  2. directed or going downward
  3. lower in price

Down (noun)

  1. descent, depression
  2. an instance of putting down someone (such as an opponent in wrestling)
  3. a complete play to advance the ball
  4. an undulating usually treeless upland with sparse soil —usually used in plural
  5. a sheep of any breed originating in the downs of southern England
  6. a covering of soft fluffy feathers; also, these feathers
  7. something soft and fluffy like down
  8. down syndrome —usually used attributively

Down (adverb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. toward or in a lower position

    "the stairs went down to the basement"

    similar: below, downward, over
    related: facedown, low, downgrade, downhill, downstairs
    opposite: up, upward, upwardly
    near: aloft

  2. from this or that place

    "came down from New York for the weekend"

    similar: away, fro, hence, off, out
    related: apart, aside, elsewhere, abroad, afar, afield, astray

Down (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. brought or having come to an end

    "eight down and two to go"

    similar: complete, completed, concluded, done, ended, finished, over, over with, terminated, through, up, out of hand, out of the way
    related: accomplished, achieved, attained, compassed, realized, dead, defunct, extinct, kaput, obsolete, expired
    opposite: continuing, incomplete, ongoing, uncompleted, undone, unfinished

  2. directed down

    "a down escalator"

    similar: bowed, downcast, downward, lowered
    near: elevated, lifted, raised, uplifted, upward

  3. feeling unhappiness

    "feeling a bit down"

    similar: bad, blue, brokenhearted, cast down, crestfallen, dejected, depressed, despondent, disconsolate, doleful, down in the mouth, downcast, downhearted, droopy, forlorn, gloomy, glum, hangdog, heartbroken, heartsick, heartsore, heavyhearted, inconsolable, joyless, low, low-spirited, melancholic, melancholy, miserable, mournful, sad, saddened, sorrowful, sorry, unhappy, woebegone, woeful, wretched
    related: aggrieved, distressed, troubled, uneasy, unquiet, upset, worried, despairing, hopeless, sunk, disappointed, discouraged, disheartened, dispirited, suicidal, dolorous, lachrymose, lugubrious, plaintive, tearful, regretful, rueful, agonized, anguished, grieving, wailing, weeping, black, bleak, cheerless, comfortless, dark, darkening, depressing, desolate, dismal, drear, dreary, elegiac, funereal, gray, morbid, morose, murky, saturnine, somber, sullen
    opposite: blissful, buoyant, buoyed, cheerful, cheery, chipper, delighted, glad, gladdened, gladsome, gleeful, happy, joyful, joyous, jubilant, sunny, upbeat
    near: ecstatic, elated, enraptured, entranced, euphoric, exhilarated, exuberant, exultant, overjoyed, rapturous, rhapsodic, blithe, blithesome, jocose, jocular, jocund, jolly, jovial, lightsome, merry, mirthful, excited, thrilled, hopeful, optimistic, rosy, sanguine, encouraged, heartened, animated, bouncing, energetic, frisky, jaunty, lively, peppy, perky, spirited, sprightful, sprightly, springy, vital, vivacious, zippy, content, gratified, pleased, satisfied, beaming, grinning, laughing, smiling, boon, carefree, careless, cavalier, devil-may-care, easygoing, happy-go-lucky, insouciant, lighthearted, unconcerned

  4. temporarily suffering from a disorder of the body

    "down with the flu"

    similar: ailing, bad, ill, indisposed, peaked, peaky, poorly, punk, run-down, sick, sickened, unhealthy, unsound, unwell, out of sorts, under the weather
    related: symptomatic, cruddy, lousy, seedy, sickish, nauseated, nauseous, qualmish, queasy, squeamish, airsick, carsick, seasick, dizzy, light-headed, shaky, woozy, achy, feverish, diseased, disordered, decrepit, feeble, fragile, frail, infirm, invalid, sickly, weak, weakly, afflicted, troubled, debilitated, disabled, incapacitated, hypochondriac, hypochondriacal
    opposite: hale, healthful, healthy, sound, well, whole, wholesome
    near: able-bodied, conditioned, fit, well-conditioned, cured, better, convalescing, improved, mending, recovering, recuperating, rehabilitated, hardy, hearty, lusty, robust, rugged, stalwart, strong, tough, blooming, bouncing, chipper, flourishing, flush, thriving

  5. not being in working order

    "while my computer was down, I attended to some unfinished odds and ends lying about my cubicle"

    similar: haywire, inoperable, inoperative, kaput, malfunctioning, nonfunctional, nonfunctioning, nonoperating, on the blink, on the fritz, out of commission
    related: broken, off, deactivated, deadlocked, ineffective, ineffectual, nonproductive, unproductive, unusable, unworkable, useless
    opposite: functional, functioning, operable, operant, operating, operational, operative, running, working
    near: effective, effectual, employable, performing, producing, productive, serving, usable, useful, viable, workable

  6. of the very best kind

    "a small jazz club that showcases some really down musicians"

    similar: A-OK, A1, awesome, bang-up, banner, beautiful, blue-chip, blue-ribbon, boffo, bonny (chiefly British), boss (slang), brag, brave, bully, bumper, capital, choice, classic, cool (slang), corking, crackerjack, cracking, dandy, divine, dope (slang), dynamite, excellent, fab, fabulous, famous, fantabulous (slang), fantastic, fine, first-class, first-rate, first-string, five-star, four-star, frontline, gangbusters, gilt-edged, gone (slang), grand, great, groovy, heavenly, high-class, hot, hype (slang), immense, jim-dandy, keen, lovely, marvelous, mean, neat, nifty, noble, number one, numero uno, out-of-sight (slang), par excellence, peachy, peachy keen, phat (slang), prime, primo (slang), prize, prizewinning, quality, radical (slang), righteous (slang), sensational, slick, splendid, stellar, sterling, superb, superior, superlative, supernal, swell, terrific, tip-top, top, top-notch, top-of-the-line, top-shelf, topflight, topping (chiefly British), unsurpassed, wizard (chiefly British), wonderful, out of this world, too much
    related: acceptable, adequate, all right, decent, good, OK, passable, satisfactory, tolerable, better, exceptional, fancy, high-grade, high-test, premium, select, special, superfine, classical, standard, traditional
    opposite: atrocious, awful, execrable, lousy, pathetic, poor, rotten, terrible, vile, wretched
    near: bad, inferior, low-grade, substandard, unsatisfactory, mediocre, middling, second-class, second-rate

Down (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a soft airy substance or covering

    "a comforter filled with goose down"

    similar: floss, fluff, fur, fuzz, lint, nap, pile
    related: batting

  2. something (as a situation or event) that is depressing

    "lately it's been one down after another in my life"

    similar: bummer, downer
    related: bore, drag, accident, fatality, mishap, woe, calamity, catastrophe, debacle, misfortune, tragedy
    opposite: upper
    near: pick-me-up, trip

  3. a lingering ill will towards a person for a real or imagined wrong

    "I don't understand why she'd have such a down against me; we've never even spoken to each other!"

    similar: grievance, grudge, resentment, score
    related: condemnation, offense, umbrage, complaint, dudgeon, huff, peeve, pique, despite, hatefulness, malevolence, malice, maliciousness, meanness, nastiness, spite, spitefulness, spleen, venom, viciousness, animosity, antagonism, antipathy, bitterness, enmity, hostility, rancor

  4. a strong feeling of not liking or approving

    "for years after the war her grandfather had an unshakable down on the Germans"

    similar: allergy, averseness, aversion, disfavor, disinclination, dislike, disliking, disrelish, mislike
    related: disgust, distaste, loathing, nausea, repugnance, repulsion, revulsion, abhorrence, abomination, antipathy, detestation, execration, hate, hatred, deprecation, disapproval, displeasure, dissatisfaction, jaundice
    opposite: appetite, favor, fondness, like, liking, partiality, preference, relish, shine, taste, use
    near: affection, attachment, devotedness, devotion, love, passion, bent, leaning, penchant, predilection, propensity, tendency

  5. the act or process of going to a lower level or altitude

    "suffered with a psychological disorder in which she alternated between emotional ups and downs"

    similar: descent, dip, dive, drop, fall, nosedive, plunge
    related: comedown, decline, downfall, downgrade, plummeting, sinking
    opposite: ascent, climb, rise, rising, soaring, upswing, upturn
    near: advance, headway, progress, progression, betterment, improvement

  6. a loss of status

    "experienced the ups and downs of a career in showbiz"

    similar: comedown, decline, dégringolade, demise, descent, downfall, fall, flameout, Götterdämmerung
    related: breakdown, burnout, collapse, crash, meltdown, ruin, undoing, defeat, disappointment, reversal, setback, bottom, nadir, abasement, disgrace, humiliation
    opposite: aggrandizement, ascent, exaltation, rise, up
    near: advance, headway, progress, flower, heyday, prime

  7. a broad area of level or rolling treeless country

    "hold a festival on the downs"

    similar: campo, champaign, grassland, heath, lea, llano, moor, pampa, plain, prairie, savanna, steppe, tundra, veld
    related: field, meadow, floodplain, bottom, bottomland, flat, lowland, plateau, table, tableland, upland

Down (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to strike (someone) so forcefully as to cause a fall

    "downed his opponent with one stunning blow"

    similar: bowl (down or over), drop, fell, floor, knock down, knock over, level, mow (down), prostrate
    related: kayo, knock out, KO, overthrow, throw down, topple, bang, bash, belt, bludgeon, clobber, hammer, hit, jab, paste, poke, pound, punch, slam, slap, slog, slug, smack, smite, sock, swat, swipe, thump, thwack, wallop, whack, whale

  2. to take into the stomach through the mouth and throat

    "downing slices of pizza and guzzling bottles of soda"

    similar: get down, ingest, swallow
    related: drink, guzzle, imbibe, knock back, sip, bolt, devour, gobble (up or down), gulp, ingurgitate, consume, eat, mouth (down), put away, sup, gorge, scarf, scoff, wolf, chew, gnaw (at or on), lap, lick, munch, nibble (on), peck (at), ruminate, dispatch, finish, polish off

  3. to reject by or as if by a vote

    "all attempts to ban indoor smoking had been downed by the town council"

    similar: blackball, kill, negative, nix, shoot down, veto
    related: decline, disallow, disapprove, dismiss, refuse, blacklist
    opposite: confirm, ratify
    near: admit, allow, approve, assent (to), pass, sanction, elect, support

Related Entry: Down and dirty (adjective)

Down and dirty is a different word from Down. The synonyms below are for down and dirty, not for down.

  1. made or done without previous thought or preparation

    "hoisting aloft the down and dirty sign that we had just made, we joined the protest"

    similar: ad hoc, ad-lib, extemporaneous, extemporary, extempore, impromptu, improvisational, improvised, off-the-cuff, offhand, offhanded, snap, spur-of-the-moment, unconsidered, unplanned, unpremeditated, unprepared, unrehearsed, unstudied
    related: unscripted, automatic, impulsive, instinctive, involuntary, spontaneous, casual, cursive, informal, unauthorized, half-baked, half-cocked, ill-advised
    opposite: considered, planned, premeditated, premeditative, prepared, rehearsed
    near: deliberate, intended, intentional

Related Entry: Down-and-out (adjective)

Down-and-out is a different word from Down. The synonyms below are for down-and-out, not for down.

  1. lacking bodily strength

    "I'm over the flu, but I still feel down-and-out"

    similar: asthenic, debilitated, delicate, effete, enervated, enfeebled, faint, feeble, frail, infirm, languid, low, prostrate, prostrated, sapped, slight, soft, softened, tender, unsubstantial, wasted, weak, weakened, wimpish, wimpy
    related: disabled, incapacitated, invalid, paralyzed, broken-down, decrepit, impotent, powerless, breakable, flimsy, fragile, dizzy, groggy, rocky, unsteady, woozy, drained, exhausted, flagging, tired, weary, worn-out, damaged, harmed, hurt, impaired, injured, unsound, resistless, susceptible, unresistant, vulnerable, yielding
    opposite: mighty, powerful, rugged, stalwart, stout, strong
    near: able-bodied, athletic, beefy, brawny, fit, husky, muscular, sinewy, strapping, virile, hard, hardy, lusty, red-blooded, robust, sturdy, tough, fortified, hardened, inured, strengthened, toughened, energetic, energized, invigorated, vigorous, vitalized, hale, healthy, sound, capable, competent, convalescing, recovering, recuperating

  2. lacking money or material possessions

    "a soup kitchen where the down-and-out daily line up for a hot meal"

    similar: beggared, beggarly, broke, destitute, dirt-poor, famished, hard up, impecunious, impoverished, indigent, necessitous, needful, needy, pauperized, penniless, penurious, poor, poverty-stricken, skint (chiefly British), threadbare, down on one's luck, out at elbows, out of pocket
    related: deprived, disadvantaged, dispossessed, unaffluent, underprivileged, bankrupt, bankrupted, bust, insolvent, possessionless, ruined, depressed, distressed, hand-to-mouth, hardscrabble, pinched, poorish, reduced, straitened, cash-strapped, low, short, tapped out
    opposite: affluent, deep-pocketed, fat, fat-cat, flush, moneyed, opulent, rich, silk-stocking, wealthy, well-heeled, well-off, well-to-do
    near: comfortable, prosperous

Related Entry: Down-at-the-heels (adjective)

Down-at-the-heels is a different word from Down. The synonyms below are for down-at-the-heels, not for down.

  1. showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect

    "the stately mansion where he lives now is a far cry from the down-at-the-heels triple-decker in which he grew up"

    similar: beat-up, bombed-out, dilapidated, dog-eared, dumpy, grungy, mangy, mean, miserable, moth-eaten, neglected, ratty, run-down, scrubby, scruffy, seedy, shabby, sleazy, tacky, tatterdemalion, tatty, threadbare, timeworn, tumbledown, gone to seed
    related: abandoned, unkept, desolate, forlorn, godforsaken, broken-down, decrepit, tired, worn-out, bedraggled, dingy, ragged, tattered, decaying, deteriorated, deteriorating, rackety, ramshackle, rattletrap, rickety, broken, damaged, destroyed, harmed, hurt, impaired, injured, ruined, wrecked
    near: brand-new, fresh, new, cared-for, kept-up, maintained, mended, patched, rebuilt, reconstructed, smart, spiffy, spruce

Related Entry: Down-home (adjective)

Down-home is a different word from Down. The synonyms below are for down-home, not for down.

  1. having or showing an unpretentious informality

    "her down-home patter as she prepares comfort foods goes over well with television viewers"

    similar: cracker-barrel, folksy, homespun
    related: modest, unassuming, unpretentious, colloquial, conversational, informal, casual, familiar, fireside, intimate
    near: affected, grandiose, highfalutin, ostentatious, pompous, pretentious

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Down

The most common words with a similar meaning to Down:

Slang: boss, cool, dope, fantabulous, gone, hype, out-of-sight, phat, primo, radical, righteous
Chiefly British: bonny, topping, wizard
below, downward, over, away, fro, hence, off, out, complete, completed, concluded, done, ended, finished, over with, terminated, through, up, bowed, downcast, lowered, bad, blue, brokenhearted, cast down, crestfallen, dejected, depressed, despondent, disconsolate, doleful, down in the mouth, downhearted, droopy, forlorn, gloomy, glum, hangdog, heartbroken, heartsick

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Down

Words with the opposite meaning of Down:

up, upward, upwardly, continuing, incomplete, ongoing, uncompleted, undone, unfinished, blissful, buoyant, buoyed, cheerful, cheery, chipper, delighted, glad, gladdened, gladsome, gleeful, happy, joyful, joyous, jubilant, sunny, upbeat, hale, healthful, healthy, sound

Related Words for Down

facedown, downgrade, downhill, downstairs, apart, aside, elsewhere, abroad, afar, afield, astray, accomplished, achieved, attained, compassed, realized, dead, defunct, extinct, obsolete, expired, aggrieved, distressed, troubled, uneasy, unquiet, upset, worried, despairing, hopeless

Near Antonyms of Down

aloft, elevated, lifted, raised, uplifted, ecstatic, elated, enraptured, entranced, euphoric, exhilarated, exuberant, exultant, overjoyed, rapturous, rhapsodic, blithe, blithesome, jocose, jocular, jocund, jolly, jovial, lightsome, merry, mirthful, excited, thrilled, hopeful, optimistic

Word Forms of Down

Inflections: downed, downing, downs

Origin & Etymology of Down

Middle English doun, from Old English dūne, short for adūne, of dūne, from a- (from of), of off, from + dūne, dative of dūn hill

First known use: before 12th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Down

Words & Phrases Containing Down

Down's

Frequently Asked Questions about Down

What does "Down" mean?

"Down" means toward or in a lower physical position. As an an adverb, a preposition, a verb, an adjective and a noun, it is defined as: toward or in a lower physical position. It has 18 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Down"?

Other words for "Down" include below, downward, over, away, fro, hence, off and out. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Down" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Down"?

There are 535 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Down". Common alternatives include below, downward, over, away, fro, hence, off, out, complete and completed.

What is a slang word for "Down"?

Slang words for "Down" include boss, cool, dope, fantabulous, gone and hype.

What is the opposite of "Down"?

Antonyms of "Down" include up, upward, upwardly, continuing, incomplete, ongoing, uncompleted and undone. Near antonyms include aloft, elevated, lifted and raised.

How do you use "Down" in a sentence?

Examples of "Down" in a sentence: "the stairs went down to the basement"; "came down from New York for the weekend"; "eight down and two to go".

Is "Down" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Down" can be used as an adverb, a preposition, a verb, an adjective and a noun, depending on the context.

Is "Down" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A1-level word, "Down" is typical of Cambridge A1 Movers (Young Learners), TOEIC Listening & Reading 120+.