from higher to lower; in descending direction or order; toward, into, or in a lower position: to come down the ladder.
2.
on or to the ground, floor, or bottom: He fell down.
3.
to or in a sitting or lying position.
4.
to or in a position, area, or district considered lower, esp. from a geographical or cartographic standpoint, as to the south, a business district, etc.: We drove from San Francisco down to Los Angeles.
5.
to or at a lower value or rate.
6.
to a lesser pitch or volume: Turn down the radio.
7.
in or to a calmer, less active, or less prominent state: The wind died down.
8.
from an earlier to a later time: from the 17th century down to the present.
9.
from a greater to a lesser strength, amount, etc.: to water down liquor.
10.
in an attitude of earnest application: to get down to work.
11.
on paper or in a book: Write down the address.
12.
in cash at the time of purchase; at once: We paid $50 down and $20 a month.
13.
to the point of defeat, submission, inactivity, etc.: They shouted down the opposition.
14.
in or into a fixed or supine position: They tied down the struggling animal.
15.
to the source or actual position: The dogs tracked down the bear.
16.
into a condition of ill health: He's come down with a cold.
17.
in or into a lower status or condition: kept down by lack of education.
18.
Nautical. toward the lee side, so as to turn a vessel to windward: Put the helm down!
19.
Slang. on toast (as used in ordering a sandwich at a lunch counter or restaurant): Give me a tuna down.
–preposition
20.
in a descending or more remote direction or place on, over, or along: They ran off down the street.
–adjective
21.
downward; going or directed downward: the down escalator.
22.
being at a low position or on the ground, floor, or bottom.
23.
toward the south, a business district, etc.
24.
associated with or serving traffic, transportation, or the like, directed toward the south, a business district, etc.: the down platform.
25.
downcast; depressed; dejected: You seem very down today.
26.
ailing, esp., sick and bedridden: He's been down with a bad cold.
27.
being the portion of the full price, as of an article bought on the installment plan, that is paid at the time of purchase or delivery: a payment of $200 down.
28.
Football. (of the ball) not in play.
29.
behind an opponent or opponents in points, games, etc.: The team won the pennant despite having been down three games in the final week of play.
From a higher to a lower place or position: hiked down from the peak.
Toward, to, or on the ground, floor, or bottom: tripped and fell down.
Away from a place considered central or a center of activity, such as a city or town: down on the farm; sent down to work at the firm's regional office.
Away from the present place.
To or in a quiescent or subdued state: calmed down.
In or into an inactive or inoperative state: The generators went down at midnight.
In or into a sitting, kneeling, or reclining position: knelt down; lying down.
Toward or in the south; southward: flew down to Florida.
Away from a place considered central or a center of activity, such as a city or town: down on the farm; sent down to work at the firm's regional office.
Away from the present place.
To or in a quiescent or subdued state: calmed down.
In or into an inactive or inoperative state: The generators went down at midnight.
To a specific location or source: tracking a rumor down.
Toward or at a low or lower point on a scale: from the biggest down to the smallest.
To or in a quiescent or subdued state: calmed down.
In or into an inactive or inoperative state: The generators went down at midnight.
To or at a lower intensity.
To or into a lower or inferior condition, as of subjection, defeat, or disgrace.
To an extreme degree; heavily: worn down by worry.
Seriously or vigorously: get down to the project at hand.
From earlier times or people: tradition handed down from one generation to the next.
To a reduced or concentrated form: pared the term paper down to five pages.
In writing; on paper: wrote the statement down.
In partial payment at the time of purchase: put ten dollars down on the necklace.
Into or toward a secure position: nailed down the boards; bolted the furniture down.
adj.
Moving or directed downward: a down elevator.
Low or lower: Stock prices were down today.
Reduced; diminished: The wind is down.
Sports & Games Trailing an opponent: a team down 20 points in the last quarter; down two pawns in the endgame.
Football Not in play: The ball is down on the 50-yard line.
Football Not permitted to advance further in the play because forward progress has stopped, especially by being tackled. Used of a ball carrier.
Baseball Retired; out: two down in the last of the ninth.
Afflicted; sick: She's down with a bad cold.
Malfunctioning or not operating, especially temporarily: The computer is down.
Low in spirits; depressed: feeling down today.
Sports & Games Trailing an opponent: a team down 20 points in the last quarter; down two pawns in the endgame.
Football Not in play: The ball is down on the 50-yard line.
Football Not permitted to advance further in the play because forward progress has stopped, especially by being tackled. Used of a ball carrier.
Baseball Retired; out: two down in the last of the ninth.
Completed; done: three down, two to go.
Learned or known perfectly: had the algebra problems down.
Slang Having knowledge of; aware: "He was not, I detected, 'down with the revolution'"(Clarence Page).
Slang Of high quality; excellent.
prep.
In a descending direction along, upon, into, or through: rolled down the hill; floating down the river; went down cellar.
Along the course of: walking down the street.
In or at: The cans are stored down cellar.
n.
A downward movement; descent.
Football Any of a series of four plays during which a team must advance at least ten yards to retain possession of the ball.
v.
downed, down·ing, downs
v.
tr.
To bring, put, strike, or throw down: downed his opponent in the first round.
To swallow hastily; gulp: downed the glass of water.
Football To put (the ball) out of play by touching it to the ground.
v.
intr.
To go or come down; descend.
[Middle English doun, from Old English -dūne (as in ofdūne, downwards), from dūne, dative of dūn, hill; see dheuə- in Indo-European roots.]
O.E. ofdune "downwards," from dune "from the hill," dat. of dun "hill" (see down (n.2)). Used as a preposition since 1508. Sense of "depressed mentally" is attested from 1610. Slang sense of "aware, wide awake" is attested from 1812. Computer sense is from 1965. Down-and-out is from 1889, Amer.Eng., from situation of a beaten prizefighter; downcast in the sense of "dejected" is from 1633; downpour is recorded from 1811; downright was in M.E.; downtrodden in the figurative sense of "oppressed" is from 1595. Down home (adj.) is 1931, Amer.Eng.; downplay (v.) "de-emphasize" first attested 1968; down the hatch as a toast is from 1931; down to the wire is 1901, from horse-racing. Downtown first attested 1835, Amer.Eng. Download is a computerese word from 1980. Down time is from 1952. Down-to-earth (adj.) is from 1932. Downfall "ruin" is from c.1300. Down under "Australia and New Zealand" attested from 1886; Down East "Maine" is from 1825.
O.E. dun "hill," from Celtic word for "hill, citadel" (cf. O.Ir. dun "hill, hill fort," and second element in place names London, Verdun, etc.), from PIE base *dheue- "to close, finish, come full circle" (cf. O.E. dun "hill," M.Du. dune "sandy hill"). Meaning "elevated rolling grassland" is from 1297.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value; "lay face down"; "the moon is down"; "our team is down by a run"; "down by a pawn"; "the stock market is down today" [ant: up]
2.
extending or moving from a higher to a lower place; "the down staircase"; "the downward course of the stream"
3.
becoming progressively lower; "the down trend in the real estate market"
4.
being put out by a strikeout; "two down in the bottom of the ninth"
5.
understood perfectly; "had his algebra problems down"
6.
lower than previously; "the market is depressed"; "prices are down" [syn: depressed]
7.
shut; "the shades were down"
8.
not functioning (temporarily or permanently); "we can't work because the computer is down"
9.
filled with melancholy and despondency ; "gloomy at the thought of what he had to face"; "gloomy predictions"; "a gloomy silence"; "took a grim view of the economy"; "the darkening mood"; "lonely and blue in a strange city"; "depressed by the loss of his job"; "a dispirited and resigned expression on her face"; "downcast after his defeat"; "feeling discouraged and downhearted"
adverb
1.
spatially or metaphorically from a higher to a lower level or position; "don't fall down"; "rode the lift up and skied down"; "prices plunged downward" [ant: up]
2.
away from a more central or a more northerly place; "was sent down to work at the regional office"; "worked down on the farm"; "came down for the wedding"; "flew down to Florida" [ant: up]
3.
paid in cash at time of purchase; "put ten dollars down on the necklace"
4.
from an earlier time; "the story was passed down from father to son"
5.
to a lower intensity; "he slowly phased down the light until the stage was completely black" [ant: up]
6.
in an inactive or inoperative state; "the factory went down during the strike"; "the computer went down again"
noun
1.
soft fine feathers
2.
(American football) a complete play to advance the football; "you have four downs to gain ten yards"
3.
English physician who first described Down's syndrome (1828-1896)
4.
(usually plural) a rolling treeless highland with little soil
5.
fine soft dense hair (as the fine short hair of cattle or deer or the wool of sheep or the undercoat of certain dogs)
verb
1.
drink down entirely; "He downed three martinis before dinner"; "She killed a bottle of brandy that night"; "They popped a few beer after work" [syn: toss off]
2.
eat immoderately; "Some people can down a pound of meat in the course of one meal" [syn: devour]
3.
bring down or defeat (an opponent)
4.
shoot at and force to come down; "the enemy landed several of our aircraft"
5.
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"
6.
improve or perfect by pruning or polishing; "refine one's style of writing" [syn: polish]
down 1. Not operating. "The up escalator is down" is considered a humorous thing to say, and "The elevator is down" always means "The elevator isn't working" and never refers to what floor the elevator is on. With respect to computers, this term has passed into the mainstream; the extension to other kinds of machine is still hackish. 2. "go down" To stop functioning; usually said of the system. The message from the console that every hacker hates to hear from the operator is "System going down in 5 minutes". 3. "take down", "bring down" To deactivate purposely, usually for repair work or PM. "I'm taking the system down to work on that bug in the tape drive." Occasionally one hears the word "down" by itself used as a verb in this sense. See crash; opposite: up. [The Jargon File] (1994-12-07)
1. adj. Not operating. "The up escalator is down" is considered a humorous thing to say (unless of course you were expecting to use it), and "The elevator is down" always means "The elevator isn't working" and never refers to what floor the elevator is on. With respect to computers, this term has passed into the mainstream; the extension to other kinds of machine is still confined to techies (e.g. boiler mechanics may speak of a boiler being down). 2. `go down' vi. To stop functioning; usually said of the system. The message from the console that every hacker hates to hear from the operator is "System going down in 5 minutes". 3. `take down', `bring down' vt. To deactivate purposely, usually for repair work or PM. "I'm taking the system down to work on that bug in the tape drive." Occasionally one hears the word `down' by itself used as a verb in this vt. sense. See crash; oppose up.
A*down"\, adv. [OE. adun, adoun, adune. AS. of d[=u]ne off the hill. See Down.] From a higher to a lower situation; downward; down, to or on the ground. [Archaic] "Thrice did she sink adown." --Spenser.
Down\, n. [Akin to LG. dune, dun, Icel. d?nn, Sw. dun, Dan. duun, G. daune, cf. D. dons; perh. akin to E. dust.]1. Fine, soft, hairy outgrowth from the skin or surface of animals or plants, not matted and fleecy like wool; esp.: (a) (Zo["o]l.) The soft under feathers of birds. They have short stems with soft rachis and bards and long threadlike barbules, without hooklets. (b) (Bot.) The pubescence of plants; the hairy crown or envelope of the seeds of certain plants, as of the thistle. (c) The soft hair of the face when beginning to appear. And the first down begins to shade his face. --Dryden. 2. That which is made of down, as a bed or pillow; that which affords ease and repose, like a bed of down When in the down I sink my head, Sleep, Death's twin brother, times my breath. --Tennyson. Thou bosom softness, down of all my cares! --Southern. Down tree (Bot.), a tree of Central America (Ochroma Lagopus), the seeds of which are enveloped in vegetable wool.
Down\, n. [OE. dun, doun, AS. d?n; of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. d?n hill, fortified hill, Gael. dun heap, hillock, hill, W. din a fortified hill or mount; akin to E. town. See Town, and cf. Down, adv. & prep., Dune.]1. A bank or rounded hillock of sand thrown up by the wind along or near the shore; a flattish-topped hill; -- usually in the plural. Hills afford prospects, as they must needs acknowledge who have been on the downs of Sussex. --Ray. She went by dale, and she went by down. --Tennyson. 2. A tract of poor, sandy, undulating or hilly land near the sea, covered with fine turf which serves chiefly for the grazing of sheep; -- usually in the plural. [Eng.] Seven thousand broad-tailed sheep grazed on his downs. --Sandys. 3. pl. A road for shipping in the English Channel or Straits of Dover, near Deal, employed as a naval rendezvous in time of war. On the 11th [June, 1771] we run up the channel . . . at noon we were abreast of Dover, and about three came to an anchor in the Downs, and went ashore at Deal. --Cook (First Voyage). 4. pl. [From the adverb.] A state of depression; low state; abasement. [Colloq.] It the downs of life too much outnumber the ups. --M. Arnold.
Down\, n. [OE. dun, doun, AS. d?n; of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. d?n hill, fortified hill, Gael. dun heap, hillock, hill, W. din a fortified hill or mount; akin to E. town. See Town, and cf. Down, ad
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