Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense, plural downloads, present participle downloading, past tense, past participle downloaded
verb
To download data or software means to transfer it to your computer or phone from another device or from the internet.
[computing]
Students and educators can download the software free of charge. [VERB noun]
Download is also a noun.
Downloads of the album have raised over $3 million for charity.
download in British English
(ˈdaʊnˌləʊd)
verb(transitive)
1.
to copy or transfer (data or a program) into the memory of one computer system from a larger one
2.
to broadcast specialist programmes, for such groups as doctors, outside normal broadcasting hours. They are often recorded on video tapes and viewed later
Compare upload
3. especially Canadian
to delegate or assign (work, responsibilities, costs, etc) to someone at a lower level of an organization; off-load
noun
4.
a file transferred onto a computer from another computer or the internet
Derived forms
downloadable (ˌdownˈloadable)
adjective
download in American English
(ˈdaʊnˌloʊd)
verb transitive, verb intransitive
to transfer electronically (a copy of a file or program) from a central computer,bulletin board, etc. to a terminal, personal computer, etc.
see also upload
Examples of 'download' in a sentence
download
Streaming has overtaken both physical sales and digital downloads as the most popular way of listening to music, with fans choosing to play songs online.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Listeners spent 2.4 million on vinyl albums last week while spending only 2.1 million on digital downloads.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Some claimed that the measures would be used to enforce traffic offences or illegal music downloads.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
This is a huge barrier that all branded online download stores must one day demolish.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
My elder sons are always downloading things to computers or mobiles.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
You will also have to adhere to your fair usage policy and download limits.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
This is expected to include limiting internet speeds to make it difficult to download large files.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The optical discs versus digital downloads battle could be another example.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
You can download a free copy at nice.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The car automatically downloads free upgrades on your drive.
The Sun (2015)
Next you must download a piece of software that will allow you to access the world.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Illegal downloading is having a drastic effect on the music industry.
The Sun (2010)
It will then download to your computer.
The Sun (2006)
There will be no download or upload limit and it will be free from next year.
The Sun (2013)
The report talks about requiring internet service providers to report users who illegally download music files.
The Sun (2009)
That makes a change in these days of disposable digital downloads.
The Sun (2010)
This allowed users to download exact digital copies of a vast array of popular copyrighted songs.
Christianity Today (2000)
Make free to download it you must.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
He accused the download service of bleeding musicians dry by giving them a paltry cut of what it sells.
The Sun (2011)
Its ills have largely been the result of the rapid growth in popularity of online movie rental and download services.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Who says you have to build up expensive roaming charges abroad if you want to download maps and information to your mobile?
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
If you are a member, you can download information sheets on touring in individual countries.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Without one, downloading films will simply take too long.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The cost of receiving calls, sending and receiving text messages and downloading data has also been cut.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
You can data download to a USB key.
The Sun (2006)
In other languages
download
British English: download /ˈdaʊnˌləʊd/ NOUN
A download is a file transferred onto a computer from another computer or the internet.
American English: download
Arabic: تـَحْمِيل
Brazilian Portuguese: download
Chinese: 下载
Croatian: preuzimanje
Czech: stažený soubor, program PC
Danish: download
Dutch: download
European Spanish: descarga
Finnish: lataus
French: téléchargement
German: Heruntergeladenes
Greek: λήψη δεδομένων
Italian: download
Japanese: ダウンロード
Korean: 다운로드
Norwegian: nedlasting
Polish: pobieranie
European Portuguese: transferência
Romanian: descărcare
Russian: загрузка
Latin American Spanish: descarga
Swedish: nerladdning
Thai: การบรรจุลง
Turkish: indirme bilgisayar
Ukrainian: завантаження
Vietnamese: tài liệu tải về
British English: download /ˈdaʊnˌləʊd/ VERB
To download data means to transfer it to or from a computer along a line such as a telephone line, a radio link, or a computer network.