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in or towards a low or lower position, from a higher one:
Is this lift going down?
Don't look down! You'll get dizzy.
The sun's going down and it'll be dark soon.
The space capsule came down in the ocean.
I bent down to look under the bed.
Just as I was sitting down to watch TV, the phone rang.
Why don't you lie down on the sofa for a while?
This box is really heavy - can we put it down (on the floor) for a minute?
Get down off that table immediately!
The terrorists forced everybody to lie face down (= with the front part of the body below) on the floor.
I put the loose floorboard back and nailed it down.
He held my arms down by my sides.
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in or towards a lower level, a smaller amount, or a simpler state:
The rate of inflation is finally going down.
Turn the TV down - it's way too loud!
The nurse bandaged my sprained ankle to keep the swelling down (= to limit the swelling).
If you wait a few months, the price will come down.
The Cavaliers were 20 points down (= losing by 20 points) at half-time.
The number of students at this school has gone down from 500 last year to 410.
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If you burn, cut, or knock something or someone down, you cause it, him, or her to fall to the ground, usually damaged, destroyed, or injured:
The house burned down many years ago.
These trees will have to be cut down to make way for the new road.
UK She was knocked down by a car and killed instantly.
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in writing or on paper:
I'll write it down now so I won't forget.
Do you have it down in writing/on paper, or was it just a verbal agreement?
I've got/put you down for (= have written that you want) three tickets each.
The police officers were taking down the names of witnesses.
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used, especially with prepositions, to emphasize that a place is at some distance from you or from somewhere considered to be central:
I'll meet you down at the gym after work.
He has a house down by the harbour.
I'm going down to the shop to buy some milk.
It's much warmer down (in the) south.
My parents live down in Florida, but they come up to Chicago every summer.
We're moving down to London.
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from an older person to a younger one:
The necklace has been passed/handed down through seven generations.
These myths have come down to us from prehistoric times.
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inside your stomach:
UK You'll feel better once you've got some hot soup down you.
He's getting weak because he can't keep anything down.
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at the time of buying:
I gave him $1,000 down, and paid the rest in instalments.
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in or towards a low or lower position, from a higher one:
I slid down the hill.
Aikiko fell down some stairs and broke her wrist.
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along:
We drove down the highway as far as Atlanta.
Her office is down the corridor on the right.
They sailed the boat down the river (= towards the sea).
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to:
I went down the pub with my mates.
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to cause something or someone to fall to the ground:
We downed three enemy planes with our missiles.
The ice storm has downed trees and power lines all over the region.
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to eat or drink something quickly:
He'd downed four beers before I'd finished one.
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to defeat someone, especially in sport:
The Yankees downed the Red Sox 7–0.
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unhappy; unable to feel excited or energetic about anything:
She's been really down since her husband left.
I've been (feeling) a little bit down this week.
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(of a system or machine, especially a computer) not in operation or not working, usually only for a limited period of time:
The network will be down for an hour for routine maintenance.
The whole system's gone down.
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small soft feathers, especially those from a young bird:
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to dislike someone, often unfairly:
Why do you have a down on him? I think he seems really nice.
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at or towards the end or the lower or worse part:
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in or toward a low or lower position, from a higher one:
There’s a bathroom down the stairs and to the right.
He poured the rest of the coffee down the drain.
The cat jumped down from the chair.
Please sit down (= stop standing and come to a sitting position).
If you feel ill, why don’t you lie down (= stop standing and come to a lying position) for a while?
We’re going to have to cut down this tree.
Workers in the convention center taped down the edges of the carpets.
fig. We hope to nail down the agreement at tomorrow’s meeting.
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in or toward a lower place or level, a smaller amount, or a simpler state:
Unemployment went down last month, dropping to under 6%.
Lots of stores are having sales, and prices are coming down.
He was down to his last $5 (= that was all he had left).
The fire burned down.
She’s slimmed down a lot in the past few months.
Would you please turn down the music – it’s too loud.
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into a worse position or state:
Michigan, down (by) (= losing by) ten points at the half, came back to win the football game.
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used, esp. with prepositions, to emphasize that a place is far from the speaker or in or toward the south:
I’ll meet you down at the health club after work.
My parents moved down to Florida after they retired.
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in writing or on paper:
He agreed to the deal, but until we get it down on paper, we don’t have a legal contract.
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at the time of buying:
She paid $100 down and the rest in installments.
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along:
Her office is down the hall on the right.
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unhappy:
I’m feeling a little down, I guess because most people have gone home for the holidays and I’m still here.
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(of a system or machine, esp. a computer) not in operation or not working, usually only for a limited period of time:
The network will be down until noon today.
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small, soft feathers or hair, esp. those of a young bird
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to eat or drink something quickly:
She quickly downed her tea and left to catch the bus.
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at or towards a lower level or a smaller amount:
The stock market is down for the fifth week in a row.
go/come down Consumers may be waiting for prices to come down before they buy.
The number of workers here has gone down from 500 last year to 410.
Production is down by almost a fifth.
down 10p/10%/10 points, etc. Operating profits were down 50%.
10p/10%/10 points, etc. down Lead closed three dollars down at $611 per tonne.
Sales were way down on the same quarter last year.
Most currencies in the region ended the week slightly down against the US dollar.
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in writing or on paper:
write/note/jot sth down
down in writing/on paper Do you have it down in writing, or was it just a verbal agreement?
have sb down for sth On next month's order I've got you down for three cases of supplies.
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if you pay money down on something, you pay part of the price and will pay the rest later:
pay 10%/$100, etc. down We paid 10% down on the house and took out a mortgage for the rest.
money/cash down The sign advertised easy mortgages and houses with no money down.
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having less money than before:
The deal left him almost $500 down.
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if a computer or system is down, it is not working, usually for a limited period:
The network will be down for an hour for routine maintenance.
The whole system's gone down.
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to refuse to continue working, especially because you are not satisfied with your pay or working conditions:
The printers are threatening to down tools if the pay offer is not increased to 8%.