Down
/daʊn/
noun
- A negative aspect; a downer.
"I love almost everything about my job. The only down is that I can't take Saturdays off."
- A grudge (on someone).
- An act of swallowing an entire drink at once.
- A single play, from the time the ball is snapped (the start) to the time the whistle is blown (the end) when the ball is down, or is downed.
"I bet after the third down, the kicker will replace the quarterback on the field."
- (crosswords) A clue whose solution runs vertically in the grid.
"I haven't solved 12 or 13 across, but I've got most of the downs."
verb
adjective
- Sad, unhappy, depressed, feeling low.
"Mary seems very down since she split up with her boyfriend."
- (normally in the combination 'down with') Sick or ill.
"He is down with the flu."
- At a lower level than before.
"Prices are down."
- Having a lower score than an opponent.
"At 5–1 down, she produced a great comeback to win the set on a tiebreak."
- (following the noun modified) Out.
"Two down and one to go in the bottom of the ninth."
adverb
- From a higher position to a lower one; downwards.
"The cat jumped down from the table."
- At a lower or further place or position along a set path.
"His place is farther down the road."
- South (as south is at the bottom of typical maps).
"I went down to Miami for a conference."
- Away from the city (regardless of direction).
"He went down to Cavan."
- At or towards any place that is visualised as 'down' by virtue of local features or local convention, or arbitrarily, irrespective of direction or elevation change.
"She lives down by the park."
preposition
- From the higher end to the lower of.
"The ball rolled down the hill."
- From nouth to south of.
"We sailed down the eastern seaboard."
- From one end to another of (in any direction); along.
"The bus went down the street."
- At (a given place that is seen as removed from one's present location or other point of reference).
"I'll see you later down the pub."
Word Validity & Sources
Dictionary data sourced from SOWPODS (178,691 words), combining TWL (Tournament Word List) and the Collins Scrabble Words dictionary. Definitions from Free Dictionary API and Wordnik.
About the Word "Down"
Down is a 4-letter word that scores 8 points in Scrabble and 9 points in Words With Friends.
Using "Down" in Word Games
When playing Scrabble or Words With Friends, "down" is a low-scoring word.