down

Meanings

Adverb

• From a higher position to a lower one; downwards.
• As a down payment
• On paper (or in a durable record)
• South (as south is at the bottom of typical maps).
• Away from the city (regardless of direction).
• 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.
• Towards the opponent's side (in ball-sports).
• Into a state of non-operation.
• To a subordinate or less prestigious position or rank.
• In the direction leading away from the principal terminus, away from milepost zero.
• Get down.
• Away from Oxford or Cambridge.
• From a remoter or higher antiquity.
• So as to lessen quantity, level or intensity.
• So as to reduce size, weight or volume.
• From less to greater detail.
• So as to secure or compress something to the floor, ground, or other (usually horizontal) surface.

Adjective

• Facing downwards.
• At a lower level than before.
• Sad, unhappy, depressed, feeling low.
• Sick or ill.
• Having a lower score than an opponent.
• Out.
• Negative about, hostile to.
• Comfortable with, accepting of.
• 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).
• Wounded and unable to move normally, or killed.
• Mechanically failed, collided, shot down, or otherwise suddenly unable to fly.
• Thoroughly practiced, learned or memorised; mastered.
• Downright; absolute; positive.
• Loyal.

Verb

• To knock (someone or something) down; to cause to come down, to fell.
• To lower; to put (something) down.
• 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.
• To render (the ball) dead, typically by touching the ground while in possession.
• To sink (a ball) into a hole or pocket.
• To cover, ornament, line, or stuff with down.

Noun

• A negative aspect; a downer.
• 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.
• A clue whose solution runs vertically in the grid.
• A downstairs room of a two-story house.
• Down payment.
• A hill, especially a chalk hill; rolling grassland
• A field, especially one used for horse racing.
• A tract of poor, sandy, undulating or hilly land near the sea, covered with fine turf which serves chiefly for the grazing of sheep.
• Soft, fluffy immature feathers which grow on young birds. Used as insulating material in duvets, sleeping bags and jackets.
• 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.

Related

Opposite words

• up
• across

Origin

• From Middle English doun, from Old English dūne, aphetic form of adūne, from ofdūne. For the development from directional phrases to prepositions, cf. Middle Low German dāle ("(in/to the) valley"), i.e. "down(wards)".
• From Middle English doune, from Old English dūn, from Proto-Germanic *dūnaz, *dūnǭ, probably borrowed from Proto-Celtic *dūnom ("hill; hillfort") (compare Welsh din ("hill"), 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.
• From Middle English doun, from Old Norse dúnn, from Proto-Germanic *dūnaz ("down"), which is related to *dauniz, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰowh₂-nis, from the root *dʰewh₂-.
• Cognate with Saterland Frisian Duune ("fluff, down"), German Daune ("down") and Danish dun ("down").