descend
to go or pass from a higher to a lower place; move or come down: to descend from the mountaintop.
to pass from higher to lower in any scale or series.
to go from generals to particulars, as in a discussion.
to slope, tend, or lead downward: The path descends to the pond.
to be inherited or transmitted, as through succeeding generations of a family: The title descends through eldest sons.
to have a specific person or family among one's ancestors (usually followed by from): He is descended from Cromwell.
to be derived from something remote in time, especially through continuous transmission: This festival descends from a druidic rite.
to approach or pounce upon, especially in a greedy or hasty manner (followed byon or upon): Thrill-seekers descended upon the scene of the crime.
to settle, as a cloud or vapor.
to appear or become manifest, as a supernatural being, state of mind, etc.: Jupiter descended to humankind.
to attack, especially with violence and suddenness (usually followed by on or upon): to descend upon enemy soldiers.
to sink or come down from a certain intellectual, moral, or social standard: He would never descend to baseness.
Astronomy. to move toward the horizon, as the sun or a star.
to move downward upon or along; go or climb down (stairs, a hill, etc.).
to extend or lead down along: The path descends the hill.
Origin of descend
1Other words from descend
- de·scend·ing·ly, adverb
- pre·de·scend, verb
- re·de·scend, verb
- un·de·scend·ing, adjective
Words Nearby descend
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use descend in a sentence
Just because someone has descended into QAnon doesn’t mean they can’t come back from it.
Evangelicals are looking for answers online. They’re finding QAnon instead. | Abby Ohlheiser | August 26, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewNewspaper reporters spouted them 24 years ago this month when the media descended to cover the 1996 GOP National Convention, more than two decades after our first bid for a Republican confab went kablooey.
Politics Report: A Poll and a Court Ruling in Key Council Race | Scott Lewis | August 22, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoIt descends upside down, like a giant knife, above Cain and Abel.
After “hopping” into the air, the vehicle skirted sideways a little before coming back to the ground, deploying six landing legs before successfully descending.
SpaceX flew a prototype of its Starship vehicle for the first time | Neel Patel | August 5, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewIf you could shrink small enough to descend the genetic helix of any animal, plant, fungus, bacterium or virus on Earth as though it were a spiral staircase, you would always find yourself turning right — never left.
Cosmic Rays May Explain Life’s Bias for Right-Handed DNA | Charlie Wood | June 29, 2020 | Quanta Magazine
Earlier this month, Toledo, Ohio, watched its municipal water supply descend into an undrinkable stew of algal toxins.
Even before she could descend to tell her story, rumors were spreading to discredit her.
Breaking Mount Everest’s Glass Ceiling | Amanda Padoan, Peter Zuckerman | March 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTJust one more note of caution before we descend down the rapids of morality and ethics.
Never Forget? The CIA Report and the Problem With Hindsight | Philip Mudd | March 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThousands of bands descend on Austin, Texas, for the South By Southwest music festival.
Craziest SXSW Band Names: Perfect Pussy, Death By Unga Bunga, and More | Marlow Stern | March 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSo they had to make me this waterproof renaissance gown and I would have to descend into the hot tub for rehearsal.
Michaela Watkins: Fired From ‘SNL’ To Hollywood’s Funniest Scene-Stealer | Kevin Fallon | March 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAs he was about to descend the tree to feed upon his victim, his wicked eyes saw the hunters for the first time.
Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin | Mary Hazelton WadeLaidlaw said nothing, but sprang to the head of the ladder, got carefully upon it, and began steadily to descend with Susy.
The Garret and the Garden | R.M. BallantyneThis contempt for the masses they cherish until they have to descend from Parnassus and enter the public service.
Skipper Worse | Alexander Lange KiellandWhen about to descend himself, his brother cuts the cord and leaves him a prisoner on the mountain.
The Three Days' Tournament | Jessie L. WestonCourage, my child,” he says; “see, we have gone a great distance; to-morrow before sundown we shall descend in Belgium.
The Real Latin Quarter | F. Berkeley Smith
British Dictionary definitions for descend
/ (dɪˈsɛnd) /
(also tr) to move, pass, or go down (a hill, slope, staircase, etc)
(of a hill, slope, or path) to lead or extend down; slope; incline
to move to a lower level, pitch, etc; fall
(often foll by from) to be connected by a blood relationship (to a dead or extinct individual, race, species, etc)
to be passed on by parents or ancestors; be inherited
to sink or come down in morals or behaviour; lower oneself
(often foll by on or upon) to arrive or attack in a sudden or overwhelming way: their relatives descended upon them last week
(of the sun, moon, etc) to move towards the horizon
Origin of descend
1Derived forms of descend
- descendable, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse