down
Down (adverb) means From a higher place to a lower one. Example: “She climbed down the ladder carefully.”
How to use down
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishOne of English's most flexible small words — covering direction, sadness, system outages, drinking fast, and soft feathers.
Word forms
further down comparative, farther down comparative, more down comparative, downed past tense, downed past tense, downs plural, downs plural, downs plural, downs singular, downs singular, furthest down superlative, farthest down superlative, most down superlative
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
She climbed _____ the ladder carefully.
Etymology
From Old English dūne, a shortened form of ofdūne, literally "off the hill" — combining of ("off") with dūn ("hill").
Synonyms
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Related words
Rhymes for down
See all rhymes for down →Frequently asked questions
What does “down” mean?
The word “down” means from a higher place to a lower one. In plain terms, one of English's most flexible small words — covering direction, sadness, system outages, drinking fast, and soft feathers.
How do you pronounce “down”?
“Down” is pronounced DOWN (/ˈdaʊ̯n/ in IPA).
How do you use “down” in a sentence?
Here is “down” used in a sentence: “She climbed down the ladder carefully.”
What is the opposite of “down”?
The opposite of “down” — its antonyms — are up, across, back, backwards and rearwards.
What part of speech is “down”?
Depending on how it is used, “down” can be an adverb, a preposition, an adjective, a verb and a noun.
Where does the word “down” come from?
The word “down” comes from Old English. From Old English dūne, a shortened form of ofdūne, literally "off the hill" — combining of ("off") with dūn ("hill").
Is “down” a common word?
“Down” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.
How many meanings does “down” have?
“Down” has 6 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: from a higher place to a lower one.
What is the difference between up and down?
'Down' describes movement or position from a higher place to a lower one, as in 'walk down the stairs.' 'Up' is its exact opposite, describing movement toward a higher place, as in 'climb up.' They form the most basic vertical pair in English, marking the two directions along which things rise or fall.
Is 'down' a preposition or an adverb?
'Down' can be both. As an adverb it modifies a verb, as in 'she sat down.' As a preposition it takes an object, as in 'he ran down the hill.' It also works as an adjective ('feeling down'), a noun (soft feathers), and even a verb ('to down a drink').
What are the different meanings of 'down'?
Besides movement to a lower place, 'down' can mean sad or low in spirits ('feeling down'), reduced ('prices are down'), or not working ('the system is down'). As a noun it means soft feathers, and as a verb it means to swallow quickly or bring something to the ground.
What is an example of 'down' used as an adverb?
'The sun went down behind the hills' shows movement to a lower position. 'Sit down, please' directs someone to lower themselves. 'Turn the volume down' means reduce it. In each case, 'down' modifies the verb and points to a lower place, level, or amount.
Example sentences
Real-world examples showing down in context, drawn from published sources. Any opinions expressed are those of the original source and do not reflect the views of FreeDict.com.
Kristian Prenga surprises Anthony Joshua and knocks him down in the first round.
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