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DOWN
gloomy, grim, blue, depressed, dispirited, down, downcast, downhearted, down in the mouth, low, low-spirited
(adjective) 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”
down
(adjective) not functioning (temporarily or permanently); “we can’t work because the computer is down”
down
(adjective) shut; “the shades were down”
depressed, down
(adjective) lower than previously; “the market is depressed”; “prices are down”
down, down pat, mastered
(adjective) understood perfectly; “had his algebra problems down”
down
(adjective) being put out by a strikeout; “two down in the bottom of the ninth”
down
(adjective) becoming progressively lower; “the down trend in the real estate market”
down
(adjective) 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”
down, downwards, downward, downwardly
(adverb) 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”
down
(adverb) 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”
down
(adverb) paid in cash at time of purchase; “put ten dollars down on the necklace”
down
(adverb) in an inactive or inoperative state; “the factory went down during the strike”; “the computer went down again”
down
(adverb) to a lower intensity; “he slowly phased down the light until the stage was completely black”
down
(adverb) from an earlier time; “the story was passed down from father to son”
down
(noun) (American football) a complete play to advance the football; “you have four downs to gain ten yards”
down, down feather
(noun) soft fine feathers
down, pile
(noun) fine soft dense hair (as the fine short hair of cattle or deer or the wool of sheep or the undercoat of certain dogs)
down
(noun) (usually plural) a rolling treeless highland with little soil
Down, John L. H. Down
(noun) English physician who first described Down’s syndrome (1828-1896)
polish, refine, fine-tune, down
(verb) improve or perfect by pruning or polishing; “refine one’s style of writing”
down
(verb) bring down or defeat (an opponent)
devour, demolish, down, consume, go through
(verb) 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”
down, knock down, cut down, push down, pull down
(verb) 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”
down, shoot down, land
(verb) shoot at and force to come down; “the enemy landed several of our aircraft”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Proper noun
Down
One of the six traditional counties of Northern Ireland, usually known as County Down.
Anagrams
• nowd
Etymology 1
Adverb
down (not generally comparable, comparative farther down, superlative farthest down)
(comparable) From a higher position to a lower one; downwards.
(comparable) At a lower or further place or position along a set path.
South (as south is at the bottom of typical maps).
(mostly, Ireland) Away from the city (even if the location is to the North).
(sport) Towards the opponent's side (in ball-sports).
Into a state of non-operation.
To a subordinate or less prestigious position or rank.
(rail transport) In the direction leading away from the principal terminus, away from milepost zero.
(sentence substitute, imperative) Get down.
(UK, academia) Away from Oxford or Cambridge.
From a remoter or higher antiquity.
From a greater to a less bulk, or from a thinner to a thicker consistence.
From less to greater detail.
(intensifier) Used with verbs to add emphasis to the action of the verb.
Used with verbs to indicate that the action of the verb was carried to some state of completion, rather than being of indefinite duration.
Usage notes
• Down can be used with verbs in ways that change the meaning of the verb in ways not entirely predictable from the meanings of the down and the verb, though related to them. See .
Antonyms
• (From a higher position to a lower one): up
• (At a lower place): up
• (Ireland: Away from the city): up
• (Into a state of non-operation): up
• (Rail transport: direction leading away from the principal terminus): up
• (in crosswords): across
Preposition
down
From the higher end to the lower of.
From one end to another of.
Antonyms
• (From the higher end to the lower): up
Adjective
down (comparative more down, superlative most down)
(informal) Sad, unhappy, depressed, feeling low.
Sick or ill.
At a lower level than before.
Having a lower score than an opponent.
(baseball, colloquial, following the noun modified) Out.
(colloquial) With "on", negative about, hostile to
(not comparable, North America, slang) Comfortable with, accepting of, approachable.
(not comparable) Inoperable; out of order; out of service.
Finished (of a task); defeated or dealt with (of an opponent or obstacle); elapsed (of time). Often coupled with to go (remaining).
(not comparable, military, police, slang, of a person) Wounded and unable to move normally, or killed.
(not comparable, military, aviation, slang, of an aircraft) Mechanically failed, collided, shot down, or otherwise suddenly unable to fly.
Thoroughly practiced, learned or memorised; mastered. (Compare down pat.)
(obsolete) Downright; absolute; positive.
Antonyms
• (Depressed): up
• (On a lower level): up
• (Having a lower score): up
• (Inoperable): up
Verb
down (third-person singular simple present downs, present participle downing, simple past and past participle downed)
(transitive) To knock (someone or something) down; to cause to come down, to fell. [from 16th c.]
(transitive) To lower; to put (something) down. [from 16th c.]
(transitive, figurative) To defeat; to overpower. [from 17th. c.]
(transitive, colloquial) To disparage, to put down. [from 18th c.]
(transitive) Specifically, to cause (something in the air) to fall to the ground; to bring down (with a missile etc.). [from 19th c.]
(intransitive) To go or come down; to descend. [from 18th. c.]
(transitive, colloquial) To drink or swallow, especially without stopping before the vessel containing the liquid is empty. [from 19th c.]
(transitive, American football, Canadian football) To render (the ball) dead, typically by touching the ground while in possession. [from 19th c.]
(transitive, golf, pocket billiards) To sink (a ball) into a hole or pocket. [from 20th c.]
Synonyms
• (drink): See also drink
Noun
down (plural downs)
A negative aspect; a downer.
(dated) A grudge (on someone).
An act of swallowing an entire drink at once.
(American football) A single play, from the time the ball is snapped (the start) to the time the whistle is blown (the end) when the ball is down, or is downed.
(crosswords) A clue whose solution runs vertically in the grid.
A downstairs room of a two-story house.
Down payment.
Etymology 2
Noun
down (countable and uncountable, plural downs)
(especially southern England) A hill, especially a chalk hill; rolling grassland
(usually, in the plural) A field, especially one used for horse racing.
(UK, mostly, in the plural) A tract of poor, sandy, undulating or hilly land near the sea, covered with fine turf which serves chiefly for the grazing of sheep.
Etymology 3
Noun
down (countable and uncountable, plural downs)
Soft, fluffy immature feathers which grow on young birds. Used as insulating material in duvets, sleeping bags and jackets.
(botany) The pubescence of plants; the hairy crown or envelope of the seeds of certain plants, such as the thistle.
The soft hair of the face when beginning to appear.
That which is made of down, as a bed or pillow; that which affords ease and repose, like a bed of down.
Verb
down (third-person singular simple present downs, present participle downing, simple past and past participle downed)
(transitive) To cover, ornament, line, or stuff with down.
Anagrams
• nowd
Source: Wiktionary
Down, n. Etym: [Akin to LG. dune, dun, Icel. d, 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) (Zoöl.) 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, v. t.
Definition: To cover, ornament, line, or stuff with down. [R.] Young.
Down, n. Etym: [OE. dun, doun, AS. d; of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. d 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.
Definition: 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. Etym: [From the adverb.]
Definition: A state of depression; low state; abasement. [Colloq.] It the downs of life too much outnumber the ups. M. Arnold.
Down, adv. Etym: [For older adown, AS. ad, ad, prop., from or off the hill. See 3d Down, and cf. Adown, and cf. Adown.]
1. In the direction of gravity or toward the center of the earth; toward or in a lower place or position; below; -- the opposite of up.
2. Hence, in many derived uses, as: (a) From a higher to a lower position, literally or figuratively; in a descending direction; from the top of an ascent; from an upright position; to the ground or floor; to or into a lower or an inferior condition; as, into a state of humility, disgrace, misery, and the like; into a state of rest; -- used with verbs indicating motion. It will be rain to-night. Let it come down. Shak. I sit me down beside the hazel grove. Tennyson. And that drags down his life. Tennyson. There is not a more melancholy object in the learned world than a man who has written himself down. Addison. The French . . . shone down [i. e., outshone] the English. Shak.
(b) In a low or the lowest position, literally or figuratively; at the bottom of a decent; below the horizon; of the ground; in a condition of humility, dejection, misery, and the like; in a state of quiet. I was down and out of breath. Shak. The moon is down; I have not heard the clock. Shak. He that is down needs fear no fall. Bunyan.
3. From a remoter or higher antiquity. Venerable men! you have come down to us from a former generation. D. Webster.
4. From a greater to a less bulk, or from a thinner to a thicker consistence; as, to boil down in cookery, or in making decoctions. Arbuthnot.
Note: Down is sometimes used elliptically, standing for go down, come down, tear down, take down, put down, haul down, pay down, and the like, especially in command or exclamation. Down, therefore, and beg mercy of the duke. Shak. If he be hungry more than wanton, bread alone will down. Locke. Down is also used intensively; as, to be loaded down; to fall down; to hang down; to drop down; to pay down. The temple of Herè at Argos was burnt down. Jowett (Thucyd. ). Down, as well as up, is sometimes used in a conventional sense; as, down East. Persons in London say down to Scotland, etc., and those in the provinces, up to London. Stormonth. Down helm (Naut.), an order to the helmsman to put the helm to leeward.
– Down on or upon (joined with a verb indicating motion, as go, come, pounce), to attack, implying the idea of threatening power. Come down upon us with a mighty power. Shak.
– Down with, take down, throw down, put down; -- used in energetic command. "Down with the palace; fire it." Dryden.
– To be down on, to dislike and treat harshly. [Slang, U.S.] -- To cry down. See under Cry, v. t.
– To cut down. See under Cut, v. t.
– Up and down, with rising and falling motion; to and fro; hither and thither; everywhere. "Let them wander up and down." Ps. lix. 15.
Down, prep. Etym: [From Down, adv.]
1. In a descending direction along; from a higher to a lower place upon or within; at a lower place in or on; as, down a hill; down a well.
2. Hence: Towards the mouth of a river; towards the sea; as, to sail or swim down a stream; to sail down the sound. Down the country, toward the sea, or toward the part where rivers discharge their waters into the ocean.
– Down the sound, in the direction of the ebbing tide; toward the sea.
Down, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Downed; p. pr. & vb. n. Downing.]
Definition: To cause to go down; to make descend; to put down; to overthrow, as in wrestling; hence, to subdue; to bring down. [Archaic or Colloq.] "To down proud hearts." Sir P. Sidney. I remember how you downed Beauclerk and Hamilton, the wits, once at our house. Madame D'Arblay.
Down, v. i.
Definition: To go down; to descend. Locke.
Down, a.
1. Downcast; as, a down look. [R.]
2. Downright; absolute; positive; as, a down denial. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.
3. Downward; going down; sloping; as, a down stroke; a down grade; a down train on a railway. Down draught, a downward draft, as in a flue, chimney, shaft of a mine, etc.
– Down in the mouth, chopfallen; dejected.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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