DOWN


Meaning of DOWN in English

/ daʊn; NAmE / adverb , preposition , verb , adjective , noun

■ adverb

HELP NOTE : For the special uses of down in phrasal verbs, look at the entries for the verbs. For example climb down is in the phrasal verb section at climb .

1.

to or at a lower place or position :

She jumped down off the chair.

He looked down at her.

We watched as the sun went down.

She bent down to pick up her glove.

Mary's not down yet (= she is still upstairs) .

The baby can't keep any food down (= in her body) .

2.

from a standing or vertical position to a sitting or horizontal one :

Please sit down.

He had to go and lie down for a while.

3.

at a lower level or rate :

Prices have gone down recently.

We're already two goals down (= the other team has two goals more) .

4.

used to show that the amount or strength of sth is lower, or that there is less activity :

Turn the music down!

The class settled down and she began the lesson.

5.

( in a crossword ) reading from top to bottom, not from side to side :

I can't do 3 down.

6.

to or in the south of a country :

They flew down to Texas.

Houses are more expensive down south.

7.

on paper; on a list :

Did you get that down?

I always write everything down.

Have you got me down for the trip?

8.

used to show the limits in a range or an order :

Everyone will be there, from the Principal down.

9.

having lost the amount of money mentioned :

At the end of the day we were £20 down.

10.

if you pay an amount of money down , you pay that to start with, and the rest later

11.

( informal ) used to say how far you have got in a list of things you have to do :

Well, I've seen six apartments so far. That's six down and four to go!

12.

( informal ) to or at a local place such as a shop / store, pub, etc. :

I'm just going down to the post office.

I saw him down at the shops.

HELP NOTE : In informal British English, to and at are often left out after down in this sense:

He's gone down the shops.

IDIOMS

- be down to sb

- be down to sb/sth

- be down to sth

- be / go down with sth

- down through sth

- down under

- down with sb/sth

—more at man noun

■ preposition

1.

from a high or higher point on sth to a lower one :

The stone rolled down the hill.

Tears ran down her face.

Her hair hung down her back to her waist.

2.

along; towards the direction in which you are facing :

He lives just down the street.

Go down the road till you reach the traffic lights.

There's a bridge a mile down the river from here.

3.

all through a period of time :

an exhibition of costumes down the ages (= from all periods of history)

■ verb [ vn ] ( informal )

1.

to finish a drink or eat sth quickly :

We downed our coffees and left.

2.

to force sb/sth down to the ground :

to down a plane

IDIOMS

- down tools

■ adjective [ not before noun ]

1.

( informal ) sad or depressed :

I feel a bit down today.

2.

( of a computer or computer system ) not working :

The system was down all morning.

—see also downtime

IDIOMS

see hit verb , kick verb , luck noun , mouth noun

■ noun

—see also downs

1.

[ U ] the very fine soft feathers of a bird :

duck down

2.

[ U ] fine soft hair

—see also downy

3.

[ C ] ( in American football ) one of a series of four chances to carry the ball forward ten yards that a team is allowed. These series continue until the team loses the ball or fails to go forward ten yards in four downs.

IDIOMS

- have a down on sb/sth

—more at up noun

••

WORD ORIGIN

adverb and adjective verb and preposition Old English dūn , dūne , shortened from adūne downward , from the phrase of dūne off the hill .

noun Middle English : from Old Norse dúnn .

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.