de ‧ scent /dɪˈsent/ BrE AmE noun
1 . [uncountable and countable] formal the process of going down OPP ascent :
Passengers must fasten their seat belts prior to descent.
descent from/to
The descent to Base Camp took about two days.
2 . [uncountable] your family origins, especially your nationality or relationship to someone important who lived a long time ago
of Russian/Italian etc descent
young men and women of Asian descent
descent from
The emperor claimed descent from David.
by descent
They’re Irish by descent.
3 . [countable] a path or road that goes down a slope OPP ascent
descent from/to
There is no direct descent from the summit.
4 . [singular] a gradual change towards behaviour or a situation that is very bad
descent into alcoholism/chaos/madness etc
his descent into drug abuse
5 . [singular] British English a sudden unwanted visit or attack:
the descent on the town by a motorcycle gang