down
/daʊn/
noun
Meaning
A negative aspect; a downer.
"I love almost everything about my job. The only down is that I can't take Saturdays off."
A grudge (on someone).
An act of swallowing an entire drink at once.
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.
"I bet after the third down, the kicker will replace the quarterback on the field."
(crosswords) A clue whose solution runs vertically in the grid.
"I haven't solved 12 or 13 across, but I've got most of the downs."
A downstairs room of a two-story house.
"She lives in a two-up two-down."
Down payment.
verb
Meaning
To knock (someone or something) down; to cause to come down, to fell.
"A single rifle shot downed the mighty beast."
To lower; to put (something) down.
"The bell rang for lunch, and the workers downed their tools."
To defeat; to overpower.
To disparage, to put down.
To go or come down; to descend.
To drink or swallow, especially without stopping before the vessel containing the liquid is empty.
"He downed an ale and ordered another."
To render (the ball) dead, typically by touching the ground while in possession.
"He downed it at the seven-yard line."
(pocket billiards) To sink (a ball) into a hole or pocket.
"He downed two balls on the break."
adjective
Meaning
Sad, unhappy, depressed, feeling low.
"Mary seems very down since she split up with her boyfriend."
(normally in the combination 'down with') Sick or ill.
"He is down with the flu."
At a lower level than before.
"Prices are down."
Having a lower score than an opponent.
"At 5–1 down, she produced a great comeback to win the set on a tiebreak."
(following the noun modified) Out.
"Two down and one to go in the bottom of the ninth."
(with "on") Negative about, hostile to.
"Ever since Nixon, I've been down on Republicans."
Comfortable with, accepting of, approachable.
"Are you down to hang out at the mall, Jamal?"
Inoperable; out of order; out of service.
"The system is down."
Finished (of a task); defeated or dealt with (of an opponent or obstacle); elapsed (of time). Often coupled with to go (remaining).
"Ten minutes down and nothing's happened yet."
(police, of a person) Wounded and unable to move normally, or killed.
"There are three soldiers down and one walking wounded."
(of an aircraft) Mechanically failed, collided, shot down, or otherwise suddenly unable to fly.
"We have a chopper down near the river."
Thoroughly practiced, learned or memorised; mastered. (Compare down pat.)
"It's two weeks until opening night and our lines are still not down yet."
Downright; absolute; positive.
Accepted or respected, especially in the black or thug community.
"What you mean, 'No'? Man, I thought you was down."
Facing downwards.
adverb
Meaning
From a higher position to a lower one; downwards.
"The cat jumped down from the table."
At a lower or further place or position along a set path.
"His place is farther down the road."
South (as south is at the bottom of typical maps).
"I went down to Miami for a conference."
Away from the city (regardless of direction).
"He went down to Cavan."
At or towards any place that is visualised as 'down' by virtue of local features or local convention, or arbitrarily, irrespective of direction or elevation change.
"She lives down by the park."
Towards the opponent's side (in ball-sports).
Into a state of non-operation.
"The computer has been shut down."
To a subordinate or less prestigious position or rank.
"After the incident, Kelly went down to Second Lieutenant."
In the direction leading away from the principal terminus, away from milepost zero.
(sentence substitute) Get down.
"Down, boy! (such as to direct a dog to stand on four legs from two, or to sit from standing on four legs.)"
(academia) Away from Oxford or Cambridge.
"He's gone back down to Newcastle for Christmas."
From a remoter or higher antiquity.
"These traditions have been handed down over generations."
So as to lessen quantity, level or intensity.
"Please turn the music down!"
So as to reduce size, weight or volume.
"Boil the mixture down to a syrupy consistency."
From less to greater detail.
"This spreadsheet lets you drill down to daily or even hourly sales figures."
So as to secure or compress something to the floor, ground, or other (usually horizontal) surface.
"We need to nail down this carpet so people don't keep tripping over it."
(intensifier) Used with verbs to add emphasis to the action of the verb.
"They tamped (down) the asphalt to get a better bond."
Used with verbs to indicate that the action of the verb was carried to some state of completion, rather than being of indefinite duration.
"He boiled the mixture. / He boiled down the mixture."
preposition
Meaning
From the higher end to the lower of.
"The ball rolled down the hill."
From nouth to south of.
"We sailed down the eastern seaboard."
From one end to another of (in any direction); along.
"The bus went down the street."
At (a given place that is seen as removed from one's present location or other point of reference).
"I'll see you later down the pub."