INDEX:
1. moving down
2. to go down
3. when the sun goes down
4. to go down under the surface of water, mud etc
5. to make a plane, boat, etc go down
6. to move something down or let it move down
7. when something hangs down
8. to move down to a lower position in a list
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ UP
prices, numbers, amounts etc go down : ↑ LESS , ↑ REDUCE
see also
↑ UNDER/BELOW
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1. moving down
▷ down /daʊn/ [adverb/preposition]
to a lower position or place :
▪ I told you not to climb on that table. Get down!
down into/to/from etc
▪ He’s gone down to the basement to get some more beer.
▪ The accident happened when we were coming down off the mountain.
roll/fall/jump etc down
▪ Tears began to roll down her cheeks.
▪ The heat of the fire brought ceilings crashing down onto the floor.
look/glance/stare etc down
▪ She gazed down at the ring on her finger.
▪ The doctor glanced down at the notepad on his desk.
▷ downwards British also downward American /ˈdaʊnwəʳd(z)/ [adverb]
moving, looking, or pointing towards a lower level or towards the ground :
▪ We came to a path winding downwards through the trees.
▪ He was gazing downward into the pit.
▷ downhill /ˌdaʊnˈhɪl◂/ [adverb]
if you move, walk, drive etc downhill, you go down a slope :
▪ We set off downhill towards the lake.
▪ After we get to the top it’ll be downhill all the way to Kendal.
▷ earthwards British also earthward American /ˈɜːʳθwəʳd(z)/ [adverb] formal
down towards the ground from the sky or from a high place :
▪ Moments later he tripped and was falling earthwards.
▪ Flight 427 suddenly rolled and plunged earthward as it approached Pittsburgh.
▷ downward /ˈdaʊnwəʳd/ [adjective only before noun]
going or moving towards a lower level or towards the ground :
▪ He managed to pull himself free with a sudden downward movement of his hands.
▪ She gave the bell-rope a swift downward tug.
▪ The downward pressure on my chest became more intense.
▷ face down /ˌfeɪs ˈdaʊn/ [adverb]
if someone is lying face down, they are lying with their face on the ground or a surface :
lie face down
▪ Douglas found her lying face down on the floor.
collapse/land/fall etc face down
▪ She was flung violently forward, to land face down in a heap of blankets.
2. to go down
▷ go down /ˌgəʊ ˈdaʊn/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to go down some stairs, a ladder, a slope etc :
▪ You go down a steep slope, then turn left at the bottom of the hill.
▪ Right, here’s the ladder. Who’s going down first?
go down to
▪ I’ll go down downstairs to the kitchen and get you a glass of water.
▷ come down /ˌkʌm ˈdaʊn/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
if a plane, bomb etc comes down somewhere, it comes down to the ground there, especially by accident :
▪ Airline officials believe that the plane came down somewhere in the Andes mountains.
▪ One of the missiles came down in a heavily populated suburb of Beirut.
▷ drop /drɒpǁdrɑːp/ [intransitive verb]
to fall straight downwards through the air :
▪ When I let go of her hand, it dropped like a stone.
drop onto/from/off etc
▪ The bottle rolled across the table, dropped onto the floor, and smashed.
▪ One of your buttons has dropped off.
▷ fall /fɔːl/ [intransitive verb]
to come down through the air from a higher place :
▪ Just as we were about to leave the house, rain began to fall.
fall from/down/on etc
▪ Leaves were falling from the trees.
▪ Bombs fell on the streets, destroying neighbouring homes, but leaving the school intact.
▷ descend /dɪˈsend/ [intransitive/transitive verb] written
to go down a slope, a mountain etc slowly and carefully :
▪ Slowly the two climbers descended the cliff face.
descend into/from etc
▪ We descended into the cave by a rope ladder.
▷ dive /daɪv/ [intransitive verb]
if a plane or a bird dives, it moves quickly down through the air :
▪ The engine did not re-start, and the plane dived to the ground.
▪ The hawk stopped in mid-flight before diving down on its prey.
dive [countable noun]
▪ Two BF109 planes flashed past in a steep dive.
▷ land /lænd/ [intransitive verb]
if a plane or a bird lands, it comes down to the ground in a controlled way :
▪ He loves watching planes take off and land at the airport.
land in/on/at
▪ We will be landing at Singapore airport at 3 am local time.
▪ A flock of Canada geese landed on the river in front of us.
landing [countable noun]
▪ Captain Edwards brought the plane in for a perfect landing.
▷ touch down /ˌtʌtʃ ˈdaʊn/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
if a plane touches down, it arrives safely on the ground at an airport but has not yet stopped moving :
▪ The King’s private plane touched down at Heathrow airport at exactly 12.15 this afternoon.
▪ We will be touching down in about an hour’s time.
3. when the sun goes down
▷ go down/set /ˌgəʊ ˈdaʊn, set/ [intransitive phrasal verb/intransitive verb]
if the sun goes down or sets at the end of the day, it moves downwards in the sky until it cannot be seen :
▪ We sat on the balcony and watched the sun go down.
▪ The sun usually sets at about 6pm at this time of year.
▪ The setting sun cast a deep red glow over the city’s rosy stone.
▷ sink /sɪŋk/ [intransitive verb]
if the sun sinks, it goes down slowly - used especially in descriptions or stories :
▪ The sun sank and darkness fell on the island.
▪ As the sun sank lower and lower, the sky first turned pink and then orange.
▷ sunset /ˈsʌnset/ [countable/uncountable noun]
the time when the sun goes down or the way the sun looks when it goes down :
▪ We sat and watched the glorious sunset from across the Mekong river.
at sunset
at the time when the sun is setting
▪ You may prefer to sit on the terrace sipping a cocktail at sunset.
4. to go down under the surface of water, mud etc
▷ sink /sɪŋk/ [intransitive verb]
to go down below the surface of water, mud, sand etc, without being able to control or prevent it :
▪ Hundreds of passengers tried desperately to escape from the boat as it sank.
sink into
▪ The guns sank deeper and deeper into the mud.
▪ With the car sinking into a marsh, there wasn’t a moment to spare.
sink without trace
sink and disappear completely
▪ There was a sucking noise, and then the branch sank without trace.
sinking [adjective only before noun]
▪ He swam away from the sinking ship.
▷ dive /daɪv/ [intransitive verb]
to jump down into water with your head first :
▪ She stood at the edge of the pool waiting to dive.
dive into/in
▪ Ralph dived into the icy water.
▪ A woman dived in to rescue the boy.
dive [countable noun]
▪ She did a perfect dive from the top board.
▷ plunge /plʌndʒ/ [intransitive verb]
to jump into a river, lake etc quickly, making a lot of noise :
plunge into/in
▪ Colin plunged into the icy water.
▪ I plunged in fully-clothed and pulled her to the river bank.
▷ submerge /səbˈmɜːʳdʒ/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to deliberately go under the surface of water or make something do this :
▪ Peter pulled on the mask and submerged again.
submerge something in something
▪ elephants submerging themselves in cooling water
submerged [adjective only before noun]
▪ The divers explored the submerged wreck.
▷ go under /ˌgəʊ ˈʌndəʳ/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
if a ship or person goes under, they sink below the surface of water, usually after an accident :
▪ By the time the sea rescue service arrived, the ship had gone under.
▪ According to the only survivor, his comrades went under one by one.
5. to make a plane, boat, etc go down
▷ sink /sɪŋk/ [transitive verb]
sink a ship/boat/submarine etc
to damage a ship, boat etc so badly that it goes under the water :
▪ Submarines were used to sink the enemy’s supply ships.
▪ One battleship was sunk and two were badly damaged in last night’s fighting.
▷ shoot down/bring down /ˌʃuːt ˈdaʊn, ˌbrɪŋ ˈdaʊn/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to deliberately shoot at or damage a plane while it is flying so that it falls to the ground and crashes :
shoot/bring down something
▪ In May 1960 the Russians shot down an American U2 spy plane.
shoot/bring something down
▪ He followed the dive-bomber round in a very tight turn and shot it down into the sea.
▪ One helicopter gunship had been brought down by small-arms fire.
6. to move something down or let it move down
▷ drop /drɒpǁdrɑːp/ [transitive verb]
if you drop something that you are holding, it suddenly falls from your hands, especially accidentally :
▪ You’ve dropped your handkerchief.
▪ Be careful not to drop that bowl, it’s very valuable.
drop something onto/on/in something
▪ I nearly dropped my glass on the floor when they said I’d won.
▷ put down /ˌpʊt ˈdaʊn/ [transitive phrasal verb]
if you put an object down, you put it on the ground or another surface; if you put your hand, head etc down, you move it into a lower position :
▪ Put the gun down.
▪ OK, you can all put your hands down now.
▷ lower /ˈləʊəʳ/ [transitive verb]
to move an object or your body into a lower position :
▪ We need to lower the mirror in the bathroom.
lower your head/arms/body
▪ Lowering its head, the bull charged at him.
lower something into/onto/over etc something
▪ The coffin was lowered slowly into the ground.
lower yourself into/onto something
sit down slowly and carefully
▪ The old man lowered himself wearily into his chair.
7. when something hangs down
▷ hang /hæŋ/ [intransitive verb]
▪ He stood very still, his arms hanging loosely, his feet apart.
hang from
▪ In the corner of the room was a large lamp, hanging from the ceiling.
▪ The watch was on a gold chain that hung from his belt.
hang down
▪ Hold one end of the rope in your hand and let the other end hang down.
hang on/under/next to etc
▪ The keys are hanging on a nail by the door.
▪ A picture of their parents hangs over the bedroom door.
▷ dangle /ˈdæŋg ə l/ [intransitive verb]
to hang loosely, moving slightly from side to side :
dangle from
▪ Dangling from her ears were two large gold earrings.
▪ He dangled helplessly from the cliff, trying not to look down.
dangle in/over/next to etc
▪ We sat on the edge of the pool with our legs dangling in the water.
▷ be suspended /biː səˈspendə̇d/ [verb phrase]
to be hanging from a high position :
be suspended by
▪ A row of hares were suspended by their feet outside the butcher’s shop.
be suspended from
▪ All sorts of artefacts were suspended from the ceiling.
▷ swing /swɪŋ/ [intransitive verb]
to move from side to side while hanging from a higher position, or to make something do this :
swing from
▪ A lantern swung from a hook in the roof.
▪ A small jewelled cross swung from a gold chain around her neck.
8. to move down to a lower position in a list
▷ fall /fɔːl/ [intransitive verb]
to move down to a lower position in a list of people or things that are competing with each other :
▪ The pound fell against the Euro again today.
fall (from something) to something
▪ Within the space of a few minutes, the British song fell from top to bottom position.
fall (by) 3 places/6 points etc
▪ Aston Villa fell 3 places in the league after their defeat by Barnsley.
▷ slip /slɪp/ [intransitive verb]
to gradually move to a lower position in a list, competition etc :
slip (from something) to something
▪ Mansell has now slipped to third position.
▪ The American slipped from second place to fourth.
slip down
▪ The team has been slipping down the league table and really needs some new players if it is to improve.