1Towards or in a lower place or position, especially to or on the ground or another surface.

1. 1.1 At or to a specified distance below.
   you can plainly see the bottom 35 feet down

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The objects from these sites were originally buried two to three feet down at the bottom of graves.
   • The well here was fascinating with two donkeys pulling up a huge leather bucket from 100 feet down.
   • Armstrong and Aldrin had to jump nearly a metre down from the bottom rung of the ladder to the Moon's surface.
   • We were kitted out with helmets and miners' torch and taken 40 metres down to the pit bottom in a cage.
   • Vandals also dug two feet down into the grave of John Devlin, who died eight years ago.
   • He said they set to work digging several feet down in search of the remains.
   • It is a good 20 feet down and the way he has landed has contributed to how seriously he was hurt.
   • The surface of the land has been cleared but the soil is contaminated several feet down.
   • He told the jury a rear patio was completely removed and the soil dug down three feet.
   • The wreck of the vessel was located, 40 metres down on the seabed, later that morning.

   Synonyms

   in a lower position, downstairs, at the bottom
2. 1.2 Downstairs.
   I went down to put the kettle on

   Example sentencesExamples

   • I got up, washed and headed down to the dining hall passing the site of last nights incident.
   • I went down to put the washing in the dryer.
   • Frank the Manc used to pop down from his attic flat with a bottle of whiskey and a plate full of samosas.
   • Come on in, son. Lindsey should be down in a few minutes.
   • Are you coming down for breakfast? It's half past eleven.
   • One gentleman has not been down at all to meet his friends.
   • Penelope will be down for dinner later this afternoon, assuming she has remembered!

   Synonyms

   towards a lower position, downwards, downstairs, towards the bottom, from top to bottom

   in a lower position, downstairs, at the bottom
3. 1.3 Expressing movement or position away from the north.
   they're living down south

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The money down there is incredible compared to up here, but I'd play anywhere.
   • Oddly, my father is from up this way, but did move down, although that was 35 or so years ago.
   • Raffles and games on the coach trip down should boost the money raised.
   • It was unusual for me to set off on my own and the journey down was strangely lacking in atmosphere.
   • It might have been cold up north, but at least it was sunny - down here it is cold, wet and miserable.
   • He converted hundreds as he made his way down into the South Leinster border area.
   • They have a big industry down there, and a lot of Irish businesses go there to film.
   • We are hoping to get them in the north of England where we are stronger but down here it is unlikely.
   • I moved down here from Hackney because I thought it would be a better place to bring my child up.
   • All I had to do was get from Hampstead in the north to West Kensington and then down to the South Bank.
   • She was heading down from the north and I was on a slightly earlier flight from London.
   • A few days ago I ran across an old friend who is now living down here with the new wife and child.
   • I am currently down in Cornwall so do not have a Tale of Two Cities with me.
   • The Premiership boys use planes a lot and it would have been nice to fly down to Exeter but we have to work within our means.
   • According to the ‘RailLinks’ pamphlet, the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire's stately home is down on the south coast, with nearby Bakewell on the Isle of Wight.
   • We have to try and prepare as best we can and take the confidence from the win against Wales down with us.
   • Make sure you contact your ferry company before driving down for a Channel crossing this week.
   • We had mixed weather on the way down, everything from hard driving rain to bright sunshine.
   • Katie slept the whole way down, or at least lay on the back seat with her eyes closed.
   • I'm sure he will go on to achieve great things at the club, and will one day be held in the same regard here as he is down on the south coast.
4. 1.4 To or at a place perceived as lower (often expressing casualness or lack of hurry)
   I'd rather be down at the villa

   I'm going down to the pub

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Still, I suppose I can pop down to the supermarket and be back within ten minutes.
   • I met Jim Renwick for the first time down at Raeburn Place last Tuesday, and I was impressed.
   • He said he would meet us down at the club later that night, but he never appeared.
   • There were four still photographers down at the Dallas police headquarters that day.
   • At night the restaurants and bars fill up with the chattering classes down from the city.
   • Once they began to be sexually active they used to march each other down to the local family planning clinic.
   • What I'm inclined to do is order some brochures from Roedean College and pop down to school with them.
   • After many phone calls around the country, my local benefits office invited me down for a wee chat.
   • She gave him a call, and he invited us to meet him down at Ohinemutu the next day.
   • Justin's dead smart, reads a lot of contemporary writing and is always down at the cinema.
   • Then, after a light lunch, he would walk down to the university cricket ground to watch a game.
   • It was obvious he had some sort of talent for the game so I took him down to one of the clubs in Carmarthen, but they said he was too young.
   • A few months ago I helped Kev out with an activity down at the church his family belong to.
   • I never knew them well, only meeting them on rare occasions down at the seafront.
   • My mother used to drag me down here as an infant to see him on Saturday or Sunday.
   • The police have also been down and we have discussed the night in detail.
   • But he does want to see you down at the stables when you're done here.
   • t wait to tell his wife the good news about a new system that they have down at the station.
   • The others went down to the local pub for a couple of pints.
   • Nobody wants to work on a Sunday but everybody wants to nip down to their local supermarket and buy their food.
5. 1.5British Away from the capital or major city.
   there are eight trains a day, four up and four down
6. 1.6British Away from a university, especially Oxford or Cambridge.
   he was down from Oxford

   Example sentencesExamples

   • To work on the Times had been a vague ambition of mine ever since my Aunt Nell, with whom I used to stay while down from Cambridge early in the war, used me as a messenger to take up to London on Sunday night the letters with which she regularly bombarded her friends and relations in high places, one of whom happened then to be the editor of the Times.
   • My friends are down from Cambridge and I don't want you to antagonize them.
7. 1.7 (with reference to food or drink swallowed) in or into the stomach.
   she couldn't keep anything down

   Example sentencesExamples

   • He looked like a bag of bones so we gave him some of our dinner and he gobbled it down.
   • It sounds simple, and it was, but washed down with red wine it was sublime.
   • I wolfed my lunch down and caught a cab to meet Amy.
   • After the gig I just drank it down, poured myself into a taxi and headed home to bed.
   • Wash all of this down with a $7 pitcher of Kingfisher and you won't be able to move for a week.
   • Swallowing it down, he glared at the worker, who was walking back to the cooking area.
   • They will take a glass of treated water from the outflow pipe and drink it down.
   • Shane took a seat beside her and she watched in fascination as he gobbled it down.
   • It took a lot of will power not to gobble it straight down as I prepared my recipe.
   • I mean, imagine going to a buffet every day and having to wolf down everything in sight?
   • She is a slow thoughtful eater and I gulp my food down but other than that we had lots in common.
   • Lo and behold, get a bit of nicotine down him and a nice cappuccino, and you can't get a word in edgeways.
   • A Snickers bar and a cigarette washed down with a can of Coke doesn't count.
   • A bit of sun, a bit of wildlife, washed down with chilled lemonade and a wedge of juicy watermelon.
   • He ate the food down quickly and gave the empty tray to the guy that came by to collect them.
   • All the swallowing has made me feel ill and keeping anything down is hard.
   • He roars with laughter at the recollection as he tucks into shepherd's pie washed down with Chablis.
   • Women who cannot keep food or fluid down because of vomiting should see their doctor.
   • A huge pear and chocolate tart which we helped down with some freshly whipped cream.
   • I am keeping my food down and this has led to my weight remaining constant, although by no means ideal.
8. 1.8 So as to lie or be fixed flush or flat.
   she stuck down a Christmas label

   Example sentencesExamples

   • James laid me down on my bed and went downstairs to get me a glass of water and some tissues.
   • First the gel to slick it all down, then the spray to mold and hold where you want it.
   • They wrestled it into the back of the car… we had to put the back seats down flat to fit it in.
   • Her jet black hair was slicked down onto her neck and her eyes were sprinkled with tears.
   • Back on the warm sand, I lay down on my stomach, pencil in hand ready to write my short story.
   • Mud covered its broad face and one of the pointed ears was stuck down against the head.
   • His usually unruly mop of brown hair is now slicked down with a neat side-parting.
   • Rugs must be tacked down, not only in the middle, but at the corners and leading edges.
   • At one point, in order to relieve the need to keep the Ctrl key depressed, a colleague taped it down with sticky tape.
   • The back seats fold down but not completely flat and they leave behind a big ridge.
9. 1.9as exclamation Used as a command to a person or animal to sit or lie down.
   down, boy!

   Example sentencesExamples

   • ‘Down, boy,’ said Carl, and Moose obeyed without hesitation.
10. 1.10 Referring to a crossword answer which reads vertically.
    how many letters in fifteen down?

    Example sentencesExamples

    • People would be telling her to stop screaming as they were trying to solve 12 down on their crossword.

2To or at a lower level of intensity, volume, or activity.

1. 2.1 To or at a lower price, value, or rank.
   output was down by 20 per cent

   soup is down from 59p to 49p

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Ms Foley said it was now clear that public and media pressure had paid off in keeping the prices down.
   • Milk prices are down and the rural economy is still reeling from the after-effects of foot and mouth.
   • Maybe this explains why undergraduate admission numbers are down in many departments.
   • Prices are down slightly this week, because demand is still on the low side.
   • Earnings per share were down from 14 cents to three cents this year.
   • This in turn kept the price of newspapers down and increased circulation.
   • But recently they have been shocked to see their bank balances going up rather than down.
   • Such players would not be able to force down wages or conditions through the threat of relocation.
   • So, you'd think that we'd all do our best to keep our mortgage bills down, wouldn't you?
   • The euro has depreciated against the dollar and the dollar has gone down against the rupee.
   • These shares are down 40 percent from the mid 1980s.
   • My latest statement shows that it is now worth less than I have paid in so far, because the unit price has gone down.
   • Economists seem to be split in their views of whether rates will go up or down after the general election.
   • However, high demand for the shares has pushed the price up - and the dividend yield down.
   • Out of the cities, it is more difficult both to keep prices down and to source quality ingredients.
   • One student at the school had his work remarked and his grade revised down by 35 per cent.
   • Even if your portfolio value is down now, you'll only suffer a loss if you cash it in.
   • Such subsidies can often lead to over production, which in turn forces prices down.
   • This bill will help to keep compliance costs down, rather than the reverse of that.
   • Governments thus have a choice. Get their growth rates up or get their spending levels down.
2. 2.2 To a finer consistency, a smaller amount or size, or a simpler or more basic state.
   I must slim down a bit

   a formal statement that can't be edited down

   thin down an oil-based paint with spirits

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Once the judges had whittled the teams down, each school sent just two teams to the main competition.
   • As always, the interview's been heavily compressed to keep the file size down.
   • Surely the one advantage of this being on tape is they could edit this stuff down?
   • She said her weight loss had inspired her to get to work and help other people to slim down.
   • And overweight people have to decide for themselves whether they want to slim down.
   • The band has slimmed down since their last album two years ago, and Papa Noel is no longer in the line-up.
   • If the liquid is too thin for a gravy, just put it in a pan on the stovetop and boil it down to reduce to a nice consistency.
   • Back on the main track, the woodland thins down and there are vistas across fields to the Kirkby fells.
   • Keep the movie's file size down - Waiting for long downloads is painful at the best of times.
   • So now I do these songs, five, six, seven minutes long, and I'm not going to edit them down.
   • She had bought a gown three sizes too small hoping to slim down to fit it.
   • Deadline is next Friday and the list of applicants will be whittled down in August.
   • At one point we had too many examples, and had to edit it down to a more user friendly size.
   • Dissolve the sugar in a little water over a high heat and boil the resulting syrup down to the softball stage.
   • Those aren't the full articles, but I'll edit it down if you think it's too long.
   • Sure, there have been times when the organisation got fat and it was necessary to slim down.
   • It would cut the size of your pages down by a fair bit, and be a bit easier to write.
   • The sapodilla is usually eaten raw, though in the W. Indies it may be boiled down to make a syrup.
   • One option would be to paint the wall with a lime wash thinned down to an almost watery consistency.
   • How on earth could he bring himself to do something as awful as edit his project down?
3. 2.3 From an earlier to a later point in time or order.
   buildings in England down to 1540

   everyone, from the President down to the bloke selling hot dogs, wants her dead

   Example sentencesExamples

   • They were simply passed down to you by your elders like tribal law, extracts from some oral manual for living.
   • It is not something which can be taught or handed down, one must be born with it.
   • He also wants them returned so he can keep them in the family and pass them down to his son.
   • The clock has been ticking down towards the deadline and I imagine he'll be galvanised into action.
   • I think it would be great to record the memories of older people to pass down to the future generations.
   • Their experience of cooking Thai food is handed down from generation to generation.
   • This hardening in attitude is repeated across the town and has passed down to children as young as 10.
   • He had never been one for idle pursuits, and it was a trait he had passed down to Grace.
   • These people will continue to pass their attitudes down to their children and grandchildren.
   • In itself, though, that gives you nothing to pass down to the grandchildren.
   • Daughters cannot inherit the disease in this way but can become carriers and pass it down to their sons.
   • A lot of the time culture is passed down to us by the advertisers, and the big corporations.
   • Amanda says that she has passed the recycling bug down to her daughter.
   • However, equality was unheard of and land could not be passed down to women.
   • Now it was being passed down to Bill as he neared his sixteenth birthday.
   • People can pass it down to their children and they can look back at their parents with pride.
   • On this week's Lingua Franca he hands on some of the sayings his family handed down to him.
   • They also have a special skill that has been passed down to every generation.
   • I would dearly love to know where it is and have it passed over to me so that I can pass it down to my family.
   • She also brought a Shelley tea set which was passed down to her from her grandmother.

3In or into a weaker or worse position, mood, or condition.

1. 3.1 Losing or at a disadvantage by a specified amount.
   United were 3–0 down

   Example sentencesExamples

   • She retrieves the break only to go match point down in the tiebreaker when she makes a complete hash of a simple volley.
   • They simply sat back and let England make all the running, even when they went a goal down.
   • I think we were a goal down with about a minute left and big Welshy [Brian Welsh] scored.
   • Too easily we were finding ourselves three or four nil down after half an hour against Celtic and Rangers.
   • They even had to come from a goal down twice after conceding an early goal and then going behind again in the second half.
   • When we went a goal down in the first half you could have heard a pin drop in the stadium.
   • Two-nil down, Moor came back to level with goals from Mustan Ali and Neil Walters.
   • Erdos was four laps down on the front-runners by the time he came out racing again.
   • I had hoped that with him being four or so laps down that he would back out of it.
   • They attacked from the start, but went a goal down after a defensive lapse.
   • This will still leave the museum about £1,500 down on the deal.
   • Four goals down with 20 minutes to go, Jock Nugent's side looked to be fighting a lost cause.
   • Even though we were three or four points down, we knew we could step it up and we knew what we had to do.
   • We were a couple of regular players down, but those that filled in did well.
   • The guys did a great job replacing the wing and getting me back on the track, but at that point, we were four laps down.
   • Hearts would have been dead and buried, two goals down with only ten men.
   • But when you go to a man down you have a bit of a persecution complex and everyone seems to give that bit extra.
   • After a nervous beginning, when he went three games to love down, Borg found his range.
   • At the sixth Scott had a golden opportunity to put Woods two down for the first time all week, but he missed from a mere four feet.
   • At the moment we just don't look like losing, even if we go a goal down in games.
2. 3.2 Used to express progress through a series of tasks or items.
   one down and only six more to go

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Nine down and six to go, Carlow and Naas are on track for All Ireland League promotion.
   • I think my body knows it's the halfway point of the week, with four shows down and four to go.
   • There is one down and two to go for Inveraray after their intermediate championship victory at Oban yesterday.
3. 3.3 (of a computer system) out of action or unavailable for use.
   the system went down yesterday

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Alas it's not sufficiently clever to hide it again when that app is closed down.
   • You ring your Systems and Network people because the server has just gone down and you want to know when it will be up again.
   • Register readers report trying to connect to the service for hours only to find nearly all its servers were down.
   • She blamed the glitch on a software error and said that once it was spotted it was taken down immediately.
   • People lock systems down prior to test and as soon as test is complete the systems are opened up again.
   • Canadian Tire didn't like it and threatened to sue him, so he took it down but still owns the URL.
   • After a complaint to the Central Source in early June, the site was taken down.
   • The email company will see all the requests coming from just one or two IP addresses and shut them down.
   • And not only that, but soon the entire network was taken down by a repair technician.
   • Banks seeking to have phishing websites located in China taken down face a language barrier.
4. 3.4down with — Shouted to express strong dislike of a specified person or thing.
   crowds chanted ‘Down with America!’

   Example sentencesExamples

   • It wasn't until her brother went to Europe on summer holiday and saw a U2 concert in Berlin in which everyone was shouting ‘Down with apartheid’ and ‘Free Nelson Mandela’ that it struck home.
   • The protesters marched through the capital waving party flags and shouting slogans such as, ‘Down with absolute monarchy’.
   • A group of four men and women burst into a bank with a chorus of ‘Down with Capitalism!’
   • One truck had the slogan, ‘Down with High Fuel Prices,’ spray-painted on a banner draped on the back of his cab.
   • The crowd broke into wild cheers and they started to chant, ‘Down with the government!’

4In or into writing.

1. 4.1 On or on to a list, schedule, or record.
   I'll put you down for the evening shift

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Out of these, 434 have Newbridge down as their first preference.
   • They also said he put his wife down as an author on papers she did no work for.
   • Oversubscribed comprehensives are turning away applications for children whose parents have not put the school down as their first choice.
   • You see, the officer who stopped me in the City marked me down on his report sheet as Asian.
   • But if you look at my cv there you will see I have her down as my primary reference!
   • The nurse noted the visit down on an index card.
   • Sergeant Major marks me down as being present and tells us to fall out to the softball field.
   • She said: ‘They did not find anything so they had to put it down as a sudden death due to natural causes.’
   • And it came just six weeks after Dawn Morris, of Great Lever, was told she could not claim tax credit for her son because he was down on records as being aged 64!
   • Some other retailers, such as HMV, have the date down as 6 June.
   • The problem was that you account for some reason when it was processed it was put down as a yearly account and not a 2 yearly account.
   • At one point one of them asked me why I didn't have my supervisor down as a referee.
   • All those attending must put their names down in the sheet in the ladies locker room.
   • If you did not put your name down for one, but would like one, please contact any of the members of the committee.
   • Also, as Richard Quinn is rather confusingly monikered T Quinn and Frankie Dettori is known as L Dettori, so Wilson Renwick is down on the racecard as K Renwick.

5(with reference to partial payment of a sum of money) made initially or on the spot.

6(of sailing) with the current or the wind.

1. 6.1 (of a ship's helm) moved round to leeward so that the rudder is to windward and the vessel swings toward the wind.

7American Football
(of the ball or a player in possession) not in play, typically through progress being stopped.

1From a higher to a lower point of (something)

1. 1.1 At or to the part of (a river or stream) that is nearer the sea.
   a dozen miles or so down the Thames

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Fast-food cartons sparkled in the autumn sunshine as they floated down the River Foss.
   • We took a boat down the river Thames complete with riotous commentary from the ship's captain.
   • It was in that guise that he was captured in 1943, floating down the Mekong River in a bamboo raft.
   • When we took a trip down the river in April last year, I was dismayed to see the state the building was in.
   • He has never forgotten the time he boated down the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea.
   • In 1999, on two trips down the river, she made a series of photographs of the waters in close detail.
   • They will then set off down the mighty River Mersey on the start of their adventure.
   • It was holed, the theory goes, by a large piece of debris being swept down the river.
   • He says it was special to be able to travel down such a beautiful river that held his family's name.
   • There's a coast guard station a mile down the river.
   • The ship made its way down the Thames to Gravesend and a last glimpse of England.
   • They then journey down the Mekong River, and then onto the Laos capital Vientiane.
   • They have a crane on top of that so it can catch any trees that may be rushing down the river.
   • The remains may have come up with the tide from the Humber or down the river from York.
   • The speculation is that the builders used canoes to travel down the river and out to the sea to get the rocks.
   • Originally the Port wines were transported to Oporto down the River Douro on boats.
   • It has stunning views down the River Necker and was on the doorstep of easily accessible attractions.
   • If you're on a guided trip down a river by boat then lunch is a delightful occasion in the life of a fly fisher.
   • Paddling down a river on a warm summer's day is great fun, the world drifts slowly past.
   • It enables them to see quite a distance down the river to the beginning of the estuary.
2. 1.2 Moving or at a point further along the course of (something)
   he lived down the street

   I wandered down the road

   Example sentencesExamples

   • If the woman who lived down the road from me when I was a kid could do it, why can't I?
   • The speed with which his attitude changed reminded me of this man who used to live down our street.
   • I have to assume in the absence of an address that he does not live down Warm Lane.
   • In the fish supermarket down the road, two whole chilled cabinets are dedicated to whale.
   • Don't worry, he lives just down the road, so I can nip round for a quick fix.
   • He lives just down the road and well and truly charms Carlos by describing him as super handsome.
   • The Woods live half-way down the street, the big yellow house on the left-hand side.
   • She goes to school just down the road from where I live but I can't go and see her.
   • He lives just a matter of minutes down the road and so would like to win at Queen's Club because it is his home event.
   • Maybe up at St Giles, the street was packed, but further down the Royal Mile, there was nobody.
   • Coventry was only a few miles down the M6 but it could have been half the country away.
   • We who live lower down the road can use the 846 but this only runs every half-hour and is often full.
   • He lives just down the road from here, so it's easy enough for him to come here and paint.
   • She phoned her boyfriend who lived down the road and he dashed to her aid.
   • They certainly were for the two female donkeys who used to live down the road from me.
   • He lived a few houses down the street from me, so we saw each other and hung out often.

   Synonyms

   along, throughout the length of, to the other end of, from one end of … to the other, through, across, by way of, via
3. 1.3informal At or to (a place)
   she was tired of going down the pub every night

   Example sentencesExamples

   • If I've been down the pub I can come home and stink of fags, which is horrible.
   • I bet a straw poll of the blokes in the office, or down the pub would reveal exactly the same
   • Most men his age would be down the local bar sinking a few pints and eyeing up the saloon girls.
   • Well, your phone will be with you tomorrow, and then you can pop off down the pub and show it off, can't you!
   • If they want to spend their evenings down the pub, they should be in front of the bar, not behind it.
   • Darren is a down to earth, cheeky guy who loves his Northern roots and can often be found down the pub with a pint of Best.
   • That's all I'm saying this week, it's sunny outside and everyone but me and Rob are down the pub.
   • Sure enough down my pub that night we had an overflow of people who had waited up to an hour in some cases to get served.
   • After that we headed off down Gee's where we meet Chris.
   • So, the day after you've been paid, what's left for having a great time down the pub?
   • What would happen if a newspaper invited readers to an editorial conference down the pub?
   • He talks to the punters on air like he does with his mates down the pub.
   • Last year the race happened on a Friday so most people from round here were either working or down the pub.
   • He was often up from London at weekends and I would see him down the pub.
   • It gives people things to talk about down the pub or around the Sunday lunch table.
   • It is not as though they can pop down the pub for a quiet pint, or go shopping in Tesco's.
   • Like many Keighley men Roger Nowell likes to have a drink with his mates down the pub.
   • We might as well be down the pub if we're just going to watch these two get lashed up.
   • He still lives with his parents, loves Manchester City and a game of darts down the pub.

2Throughout (a period of time)

1attributive Directed or moving towards a lower place or position.

1. 1.1 Relating to or denoting trains travelling away from the main terminus.
   we travelled on the first down train

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Currently 13 trains a day stop at Pewsey compared with three up trains going to Paddington and three down trains when Mr Nicholls first joined the NDRPA.
   • The down train that forms the 9.30 was 9 minutes late.
   • All down trains of the Central and Western Railway leaving Mumbai today will be running on schedule.
   • The picture shows a double-armed signal post on the down platform, prior to the building of the signal box.
2. 1.2Physics Denoting a flavour of quark having a charge of −1/3. Protons and neutrons are thought to be composed of combinations of up and down quarks.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • At this energy level, only up and down quarks, the electron and the electron neutrino exist.
   • The new results promise to yield important information about the up and down quarks that comprise protons and neutrons.
   • A neutral pion consists of a down quark and a down antiquark.

2predicative Unhappy; depressed.

3predicative (of a computer system) temporarily out of action or unavailable.

4US informal predicative Supporting or going along with someone or something.

1. 4.1 Aware of and following the latest fashion.
   a seriously down, hip-hop homie

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The main character of this painfully hilarious racial satire stretches to prove he's really a down white boy.
   • There's a lot of people out there who are calling themselves rappers but they're not really down.

1Knock or bring to the ground.

1. 1.1American Football Put (the ball) out of play deliberately by touching one's knee to the ground while holding the ball or touching the ball itself to the ground.
   Jones downed the ball in the end zone

2Consume (something, typically a drink)

1. 2.1Golf Sink (a putt)
   he downed a 20-foot putt for victory

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Home with two mighty shots, Murray downed a nine-foot putt to be all square.
   • He hit a glorious drive and second to nine feet, then downed the putt for a 67.
   • Randhawa…downed his putt from 10 feet short of the green.

1American Football
A chance for a team to advance the ball, ending when the ball carrier is tackled or the ball becomes out of play. A team must advance at least ten yards in a series of four downs in order to keep possession.

2downsinformal Unwelcome experiences or events.

3informal A feeling or period of unhappiness or depression.

1Soft, fine, fluffy feathers which form the first covering of a young bird or an insulating layer below the contour feathers of an adult bird.

1. 1.1 Down feathers taken from ducks or their nests and used for stuffing cushions, quilts, etc.
   a down-filled sleeping bag

   Example sentencesExamples

   • I bought a down comforter to put inside the duvet.
2. 1.2 Fine, soft hair on the face or body of a person.
   the baby's head was covered in down

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Every single women on the planet has 'down' on her face- in fact, it's what gives some women that 'perfect complexion' look.
3. 1.3 Short, soft hairs on some leaves, fruit, or seeds.
   the bright green leaves are covered with a soft white down

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Its leaves, which turn a deep crimson in autumn, are rounded and covered with down.

1usually downsA gently rolling hill.

1. 1.1 Ridges of undulating chalk and limestone hills in southern England, used mainly for pasture.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • But the mainstay of the county was the sheep on the chalk downs around Dorchester and the cattle in the vale of Blackmoor to the north.
   • Situated on a spur on the western edge of the Wessex downs, Eggardon overlooks undulating valley land.

2A stretch of sea off the east coast of Kent, sheltered by the Goodwin Sands.

One of the Six Counties of Northern Ireland, since 1973 an administrative district; chief town, Downpatrick.