go down phrasal verb ( see also ↑ go )
1 . GET LOWER to become lower in level, amount etc:
His income went down last year.
Computers have gone down in price.
go down by 10%/250/$900 etc
Spending has gone down by 2%.
2 . STANDARD if something goes down, its quality or standard gets worse:
This neighbourhood has really gone down in the last few years.
3 . go down well/badly/a treat etc
a) to get a particular reaction from someone:
His suggestion did not go down very well.
The movie went down very well in America.
The speech went down a treat with members (=members liked it very much) .
The idea went down like a lead balloon (=was not popular or successful) .
b) if food or drink goes down well, you enjoy it:
I’m not that hungry so a salad would go down nicely.
4 . GO FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER to go from one place to another, especially to a place that is further south
go down to
We’re going down to Bournemouth for the weekend.
He’s gone down to the store to get some milk.
5 . go down the shops/club/park etc British English spoken informal to go to the shops, a club etc:
Does anyone want to go down the pub tonight?
6 . SHIP if a ship goes down, it sinks:
Ten men died when the ship went down.
7 . PLANE if a plane goes down, it suddenly falls to the ground:
An emergency call was received shortly before the plane went down.
8 . BECOME LESS SWOLLEN to become less swollen:
The swelling will go down if you rest your foot.
9 . LOSE AIR if something that is filled with air goes down, air comes out and it becomes smaller and softer:
Your tyre’s gone down.
10 . BE REMEMBERED [always + adverb/preposition] to be recorded or remembered in a particular way
go down as
The talks went down as a landmark in the peace process.
The carnival will go down in history (=be remembered for many years) as one of the best ever.
11 . COMPETITION/SPORT
a) to lose a game, competition, or election:
The Hawkers went down 5–9.
go down by
The government went down by 71 votes.
go down to
Liverpool went down to Juventus.
b) to move down to a lower position in an official list of teams or players
go down to
United went down to the second division.
12 . COMPUTER if a computer goes down, it stops working for a short time:
If one of the file servers goes down, you lose the whole network.
13 . LIGHTS if lights go down, they become less bright:
The lights went down and the curtain rose on an empty stage.
14 . SUN when the sun goes down, it appears to move down until you cannot see it any more
15 . WIND if the wind goes down, it becomes less strong:
The wind had gone down but the night had turned chilly.
16 . PRISON informal to be sent to prison:
He went down for five years.
17 . HAPPEN spoken informal to happen:
the type of guy who knows what’s going down
What’s going down?
18 . LEAVE UNIVERSITY British English formal old-fashioned to leave Oxford or Cambridge University at the end of a period of study