down
/ˈdaʊ̯n/ adverb, preposition, adjective, verb, noun, proper noun
Forms further down farther down furthest down farthest down downs downing downed doon
- adverb (comparable) From a higher position to a lower one; downwards. “The cat jumped down from the table.”
- adverb To or towards what is considered the bottom of something, irrespective of whether this is presently physically lower. “Go down to the bottom of the page.”
- adverb (comparable) At a lower or further place or position along a set path. “His place is farther down the road.”
- adverb To the south (as south is at the bottom of typical maps). “I went down to Miami for a conference.”
- adverb Away from the city (regardless of direction). “He went down to Cavan.”
- adverb 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.”
- adverb Forward, straight ahead. “At the first intersection turn left and walk down, then turn right.”
- adverb (rail transport) In the direction leading away from the principal terminus, away from milepost zero.
- preposition From the higher end to the lower of. “The ball rolled down the hill.”
- preposition From north to south of. “We sailed down the eastern seaboard.”
- preposition Towards the mouth of (a river); in the direction of flow of. “In this game we float sticks down the river.”
- preposition From one end to another of (in any direction); along. “The bus went down the street.”
- preposition (UK, Ireland) 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.”
- preposition (UK, Ireland) To (a given place that is seen as removed from one's present location or other point of reference). “I'm going down the shops.”
- adjective Facing downwards. “Turn the cloth over so that the patterned side is down.”
- adjective At a lower level than before. “The stock market is down.”
- adjective (informal) Sad, unhappy, depressed, feeling low. “Mary seems very down since she split up with her boyfriend.”
- adjective (normally in the combination 'down with') Sick or ill. “He is down with the flu.”
- adjective (not comparable, military, law enforcement, slang, of a person) Wounded and unable to move normally, or killed. “We have an officer down outside the suspect's house.”
- adjective (veterinary medicine, of a cow) Stranded in a recumbent position; unable to stand. “a down cow”
Synonyms
miserable sorrowful atrabiliary atrabilious blitheless dispirited blue bummed out chapfallen cheerless chopfallen crestfallen cut up damp dejected depressed despondent disgruntled disconsolate disheartened down feather John L. H. Down pile toss off pop bolt down belt down pour down drink down kill
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English doun, doune (“down”), from Old English dūne (“down”), aphetic form of adūne (“down, downward”), from earlier ofdūne (“down”, literally “off the hill”), from of (“of, off of”) + dūn (“hill, mount, dune, down”). More at Etymology 2 below. For the development from directional phrases to prepositions, compare Old Frisian dene (“down”, adverb, literally “(to the) floor”), Middle Low German dāle (“down, downwards”, literally “(in/to the) dale/valley”), whence German Low German dal (“down”). Compare also Saterland Frisian deel (“down”, literally “to/into the dale”), West Frisian del (“down”). Cognate with Scots doon (“down”).
From Middle English doune, from Old English dūn, from Proto-West Germanic *dūn (“sandhill, dune”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Proto-Germanic *dūnaz, *dūnǭ (“pile, heap”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“smoke, haze, dust”).
Alternatively, perhaps borrowed from Proto-Celtic *dūnom (“hill; hillfort”) (compare Welsh din (“city, fort, stronghold”), Irish dún (“hill, fort”)), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“to finish, come full circle”).
Cognate with West Frisian dún (“dune, sandhill”), Dutch duin (“dune, sandhill”), German Düne (“dune”). More at town; akin to dune. Doublet of Down.
From Middle English doun, from Old Norse dúnn, from Proto-Germanic *dūnaz (“down”), which is related to *dauniz (“(pleasant) smell”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰowh₂-nis, from the root *dʰewh₂-.
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Duune (“fluff, down”), German Daune (“down”) and Danish dun (“down”).
From Irish dún (“fortress, stronghold”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun 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.
- noun 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.
- verb To cover, ornament, line, or stuff with down. [R.] Young.
- noun 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.
Etymology [Akin to LG. dune, dun, Icel. d, Sw. dun, Dan. duun, G. daune, cf. D. dons; perh. akin to E. dust.]
Etymology [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.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “down”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details