down : Idioms & Phrases

Index


andrew jackson downing

  • noun United States landscape architect who designed the grounds of the White House and the Capitol Building (1815-1852)
    Downing.
WordNet

back down

  • verb move backwards from a certain position
    back off; back up.
    • The bully had to back down
  • verb remove oneself from an obligation
    back off; pull out; bow out; chicken out.
    • He bowed out when he heard how much work was involved
WordNet

bargain down

  • verb persuade the seller to accept a lower price
    bargain down.
    • She beat the merchant down $100
WordNet

batten down

  • verb furnish with battens
    batten; secure.
    • batten ships
WordNet

bear down

  • verb exert a force with a heavy weight
    drag down; press down on; bear down; bear down on.
    • The snow bore down on the roof
  • verb contract the abdominal muscles during childbirth to ease delivery
    overbear.
  • verb to make a rush at or sudden attack upon, as in battle
    charge.
    • he saw Jess charging at him with a pitchfork
  • verb exert full strength
    • The pitcher bore down
  • verb pay special attention to
    • The lectures bore down on the political background
  • verb exert a force or cause a strain upon
    • This tax bears down on the lower middle class
WordNet

bear down on

  • verb sail towards another vessel, of a ship
    bear down on.
  • verb exert a force with a heavy weight
    drag down; press down on; bear down; bear down on.
    • The snow bore down on the roof
WordNet

bear down upon

  • verb sail towards another vessel, of a ship
    bear down on.
WordNet

beat down

  • verb persuade the seller to accept a lower price
    bargain down.
    • She beat the merchant down $100
  • verb shine hard
    • The sun beat down on the hikers
  • verb dislodge from a position
    • She beat the dealer down to a much better price
WordNet

bed down

  • verb go to bed
    bed down.
    • We bedded down at midnight
WordNet

belt down

  • verb drink down entirely
    drink down; bolt down; pop; belt down; down; kill; toss off.
    • He downed three martinis before dinner
    • She killed a bottle of brandy that night
    • They popped a few beer after work
WordNet

bog down

  • verb get stuck while doing something
    bog.
    • She bogged down many times while she wrote her dissertation
  • verb cause to get stuck as if in a mire
    mire.
    • The mud mired our cart
  • verb be unable to move further
    mire; get stuck; grind to a halt.
    • The car bogged down in the sand
  • verb cause to slow down or get stuck
    bog.
    • The vote would bog down the house
WordNet

boil down

  • verb be the essential element
    boil down; reduce.
    • The proposal boils down to a compromise
  • verb be cooked until very little liquid is left
    decoct; reduce; concentrate.
    • The sauce should reduce to one cup
  • verb cook until very little liquid is left
    concentrate; reduce.
    • The cook reduced the sauce by boiling it for a long time
WordNet

bolt down

  • verb drink down entirely
    drink down; bolt down; pop; belt down; down; kill; toss off.
    • He downed three martinis before dinner
    • She killed a bottle of brandy that night
    • They popped a few beer after work
  • verb eat a large amount of food quickly
    gobble up; shovel in; bolt down.
    • The children gobbled down most of the birthday cake
WordNet

bow down

  • verb get into a prostrate position, as in submission
    prostrate.
  • verb bend one's knee or body, or lower one's head
    bow.
    • He bowed before the King
    • She bowed her head in shame
WordNet

bowed down

  • adjective satellite heavily burdened with work or cares
    bowed down; loaded down; overburdened.
    • bowed down with troubles
    • found himself loaded down with responsibilities
    • overburdened social workers
    • weighed down with cares
WordNet

break down

  • verb make ineffective
    crush.
    • Martin Luther King tried to break down racial discrimination
  • verb make a mathematical, chemical, or grammatical analysis of; break down into components or essential features
    take apart; dissect; analyze; analyse.
    • analyze a specimen
    • analyze a sentence
    • analyze a chemical compound
  • verb lose control of one's emotions
    snap; lose it.
    • When she heard that she had not passed the exam, she lost it completely
    • When her baby died, she snapped
  • verb stop operating or functioning
    die; give out; give way; break; go; go bad; conk out; fail.
    • The engine finally went
    • The car died on the road
    • The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town
    • The coffee maker broke
    • The engine failed on the way to town
    • her eyesight went after the accident
  • verb fall apart
    collapse; tumble; crumple; crumble.
    • the building crumbled after the explosion
    • Negotiations broke down
  • verb cause to fall or collapse
  • verb separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts
    decompose; break up.
  • verb collapse due to fatigue, an illness, or a sudden attack
    collapse.
WordNet

bring down

  • verb move something or somebody to a lower position
    lower; get down; let down; bring down.
    • take down the vase from the shelf
  • verb cause the downfall of; of rulers
    subvert; overturn; overthrow.
    • The Czar was overthrown
    • subvert the ruling class
  • verb impose something unpleasant
    impose; visit; inflict.
    • The principal visited his rage on the students
  • verb cause to come to the ground
    bring down; land.
    • the pilot managed to land the airplane safely
  • verb cause to be enthusiastic
    • Her playing brought down the house
  • verb cut down on; make a reduction in
    trim; cut; cut back; bring down; reduce; cut down; trim back.
    • reduce your daily fat intake
    • The employer wants to cut back health benefits
WordNet

broken-down

  • adjective satellite in deplorable condition
    dilapidated; broken-down; tatterdemalion; ramshackle; derelict; bedraggled.
    • a street of bedraggled tenements
    • a broken-down fence
    • a ramshackle old pier
    • a tumble-down shack
  • adjective satellite not in working order
    • had to push the broken-down car
    • a broken-down tractor fit only for children to play on
WordNet

brush down

  • verb reprimand
    tell off.
    • She told the misbehaving student off
WordNet

buckle down

  • verb work very hard, like a slave
    buckle down; break one's back; slave.
WordNet

bunk down

  • verb go to bed
    bed down.
    • We bedded down at midnight
WordNet

burn down

  • verb burn completely; be consumed or destroyed by fire
    burn up; go up.
    • The hut burned down
    • The mountain of paper went up in flames
  • verb destroy by fire
    fire; burn.
    • They burned the house and his diaries
WordNet

button-down

  • adjective satellite unimaginatively conventional
    button-down; conservative.
    • a colorful character in the buttoned-down, dull-grey world of business"- Newsweek
  • adjective satellite of a shirt; having the ends of the collar fastened down by buttons
    • Brooks Brothers button-down shirts
WordNet

buttoned-down

  • adjective satellite unimaginatively conventional
    button-down; conservative.
    • a colorful character in the buttoned-down, dull-grey world of business"- Newsweek
WordNet

call down

  • verb summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic
    arouse; raise; invoke; conjure up; bring up; call forth; evoke; put forward; stir; conjure.
    • raise the specter of unemployment
    • he conjured wild birds in the air
    • call down the spirits from the mountain
  • verb censure severely or angrily
    call on the carpet; rag; remonstrate; chew out; take to task; call down; jaw; lambast; trounce; scold; chide; berate; chew up; have words; rebuke; reprimand; reproof; lecture; bawl out; lambaste.
    • The mother scolded the child for entering a stranger's car
    • The deputy ragged the Prime Minister
    • The customer dressed down the waiter for bringing cold soup
WordNet

calm down

  • verb become quiet or calm, especially after a state of agitation
    cool off; calm; calm down; cool it; chill out; settle down.
    • After the fight both men need to cool off.
    • It took a while after the baby was born for things to settle down again.
  • verb make calm or still
    still; tranquilize; tranquillize; quiet; calm; tranquillise; quieten; lull.
    • quiet the dragons of worry and fear
  • verb become quiet or less intensive
    lull.
    • the fighting lulled for a moment
WordNet

camp down

  • verb establish or set up a camp
    camp.
WordNet

cascade down

  • verb rush down in big quantities, like a cascade
    cascade.
WordNet

cast down

  • verb lower someone's spirits; make downhearted
    depress; dispirit; dismay; deject; demoralise; cast down; demoralize.
    • These news depressed her
    • The bad state of her child's health demoralizes her
WordNet

choke down

  • verb suppress
    choke back; choke off.
    • He choked down his rage
WordNet

chop down

  • verb cut down
    • George chopped down the cherry tree
WordNet

churchill downs

  • noun a racetrack for thoroughbred racing in Louisville; site of the Kentucky Derby
WordNet

clamp down

  • verb repress or suppress (something regarded as undesirable)
    clamp down.
    • The police clamped down on illegal drugs
WordNet

climb down

  • verb come down
    alight.
    • the birds alighted
WordNet

climb-down

  • noun a retraction of a previously held position
    backdown; withdrawal.
WordNet

close down

  • verb cease to operate or cause to cease operating
    close; close up; close down; fold.
    • The owners decided to move and to close the factory
    • My business closes every night at 8 P.M.
    • close up the shop
WordNet

come down

  • verb move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
    descend; come down; fall.
    • The temperature is going down
    • The barometer is falling
    • The curtain fell on the diva
    • Her hand went up and then fell again
  • verb be the essential element
    boil down; reduce.
    • The proposal boils down to a compromise
  • verb fall from clouds
    precipitate; fall.
    • rain, snow and sleet were falling
    • Vesuvius precipitated its fiery, destructive rage on Herculaneum
  • verb get sick
    sicken.
    • She fell sick last Friday, and now she is in the hospital
  • verb criticize or reprimand harshly
    • The critics came down hard on the new play
WordNet

cool down

  • verb make cool or cooler
    chill; cool.
    • Chill the food
  • verb lose intensity
    cool off; cool.
    • His enthusiasm cooled considerably
  • verb loose heat
    chill; cool.
    • The air cooled considerably after the thunderstorm
WordNet

count down

  • verb count backwards; before detonating a bomb, for example
WordNet

crack down

  • verb repress or suppress (something regarded as undesirable)
    clamp down.
    • The police clamped down on illegal drugs
WordNet

cut down

  • verb cut down on; make a reduction in
    trim; cut; cut back; bring down; reduce; cut down; trim back.
    • reduce your daily fat intake
    • The employer wants to cut back health benefits
  • verb cut with sweeping strokes; as with an ax or machete
    slash.
  • verb cause to come or go down
    down; knock down; pull down; cut down.
    • The policeman downed the heavily armed suspect
    • The mugger knocked down the old lady after she refused to hand over her wallet
  • verb intercept (a player)
    cut out.
  • verb cut with a blade or mower
    mow.
    • mow the grass
  • verb cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
    drop; fell; cut down.
    • strike down a tree
    • Lightning struck down the hikers
WordNet

dash down

  • verb write down hastily
    dash off.
    • She dashed off a letter to her lawyer
WordNet

deep down

  • adverb in reality
    in spite of appearance; inside; at bottom; at heart.
    • she is very kind at heart
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die down

  • verb suffer from a disease that kills shoots
    die back.
    • The plants near the garage are dying back
  • verb become progressively weaker
    • the laughter died down
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doss down

  • verb sleep in a convenient place
    doss; crash.
    • You can crash here, though it's not very comfortable
WordNet

Down draught

  • a downward draft, as in a flue, chimney, shaft of a mine, etc.
Webster 1913

down easter

  • noun a native or resident of Maine
    Mainer.
WordNet

down feather

  • noun soft fine feathers
    down.
WordNet

Down helm

  • (Naut.), an order to the helmsman to put the helm to leeward.
Webster 1913

Down in the mouth

  • adjective satellite filled with melancholy and despondency
    blue; downhearted; dispirited; depressed; downcast; down; gloomy; low; low-spirited; grim.
    • gloomy at the thought of what he had to face
    • gloomy predictions
    • a gloomy silence
    • took a grim view of the economy
    • the darkening mood
    • lonely and blue in a strange city
    • depressed by the loss of his job
    • a dispirited and resigned expression on her face
    • downcast after his defeat
    • feeling discouraged and downhearted
WordNet
  • chopfallen; dejected.
Webster 1913

Down onupon

  • (joined with a verb indicating motion, as go, come, pounce), to attack, implying the idea of threatening power.
    Come down upon us with a mighty power. Shak.
Webster 1913

down pat

  • adjective satellite understood perfectly
    down; mastered.
    • had his algebra problems down
WordNet

down payment

  • noun a partial payment made at the time of purchase; the balance to be paid later
    deposit.
WordNet

down quark

  • noun a stable quark with an electric charge of -1/3 and a mass 607 times that of an electron
WordNet

down syndrome

  • noun a congenital disorder caused by having an extra 21st chromosome; results in a flat face and short stature and mental retardation
    mongolism; Down syndrome; mongolianism; trisomy 21.
WordNet

Down the country

  • toward the sea, or toward the part where rivers discharge their waters into the ocean.
Webster 1913

Down the sound

  • in the direction of the ebbing tide; toward the sea.
Webster 1913

down the stairs

  • adverb on a floor below
    below; downstairs; on a lower floor.
    • the tenants live downstairs
WordNet

down town

  • noun the center of a city
    municipal center; civic center.
WordNet

Down tree

  • (Bot.), a tree of Central America (Ochroma Lagopus), the seeds of which are enveloped in vegetable wool.
Webster 1913

Down with

  • take down, throw down, put down; used in energetic command. "Down with the palace; fire it." Dryden.
Webster 1913

down's syndrome

  • noun a congenital disorder caused by having an extra 21st chromosome; results in a flat face and short stature and mental retardation
    mongolism; Down syndrome; mongolianism; trisomy 21.
WordNet

down-and-out

  • noun a person who is destitute
    • he tried to help the down-and-out
  • adjective satellite lacking resources (or any prospect of resources)
WordNet

down-bow

  • noun a downward stroke from the heel to the tip of the bow
WordNet

down-share

Down"-share` noun
Definitions
  1. A breastplow used in paring off turf on downs. Eng. Knight.
Webster 1913

down-to-earth

  • adjective satellite sensible and practical
    earthy.
    • has a straightforward down-to-earth approach to a problem
    • her earthy common sense
WordNet

downing street

  • noun a street of Westminster in London
    • the Prime Minister lives at No. 10 Downing Street
  • noun the British government
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drag down

  • verb exert a force with a heavy weight
    drag down; press down on; bear down; bear down on.
    • The snow bore down on the roof
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dress down

  • verb censure severely or angrily
    call on the carpet; rag; remonstrate; chew out; take to task; call down; jaw; lambast; trounce; scold; chide; berate; chew up; have words; rebuke; reprimand; reproof; lecture; bawl out; lambaste.
    • The mother scolded the child for entering a stranger's car
    • The deputy ragged the Prime Minister
    • The customer dressed down the waiter for bringing cold soup
  • verb dress informally and casually
    underdress.
    • On Fridays, employees can underdress
WordNet

dressing down

  • noun a severe scolding
    going-over; upbraiding; castigation; earful; bawling out; chewing out.
WordNet

drink down

  • verb drink down entirely
    drink down; bolt down; pop; belt down; down; kill; toss off.
    • He downed three martinis before dinner
    • She killed a bottle of brandy that night
    • They popped a few beer after work
WordNet

  • verb fall or descend to a lower place or level
    drop; sink.
    • He sank to his knees
WordNet

  • noun a menu of options that appears below the item when the computer user clicks on it
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duck down

  • noun down of the duck
WordNet

dwindle down

  • verb become smaller or lose substance
    dwindle; dwindle away.
    • Her savings dwindled down
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ebb down

  • verb flow back or recede
    ebb off; ebb out; ebb away; ebb.
    • the tides ebbed at noon
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Eider down

  • . Cf. Icel. æthardun, Sw. eiderdun, Dan. ederduun. Down of the eider duck, much sought after as an article of luxury.
Webster 1913

fall down

  • verb lose an upright position suddenly
    fall.
    • The vase fell over and the water spilled onto the table
    • Her hair fell across her forehead
WordNet

fight down

  • verb fight against or resist strongly
    defend; oppose; fight back; fight.
    • The senator said he would oppose the bill
    • Don't fight it!
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flag down

  • verb signal to stop
    • Let's flag down a cab--it's starting to rain
    • The policeman flagged down our car
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flap down

  • verb throw violently
    slam.
    • He slammed the book on the table
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flump down

  • verb fall heavily
    flump.
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flush down

  • verb flow freely
    flush down.
    • The body washed down the river
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freeze down

  • verb change from a liquid to a solid when cold
    freeze out; freeze.
    • Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit
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garbage down

  • verb eat a large amount of food quickly
    gobble up; shovel in; bolt down.
    • The children gobbled down most of the birthday cake
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get down

  • verb lower (one's body) as by kneeling
    • Get down on your knees!
  • verb move something or somebody to a lower position
    lower; get down; let down; bring down.
    • take down the vase from the shelf
  • verb alight from (a horse)
    light; dismount; unhorse; get off.
  • verb pass through the esophagus as part of eating or drinking
    swallow.
    • Swallow the raw fish--it won't kill you!
  • verb lower someone's spirits; make downhearted
    depress; dispirit; dismay; deject; demoralise; cast down; demoralize.
    • These news depressed her
    • The bad state of her child's health demoralizes her
  • verb put down in writing; of texts, musical compositions, etc.
    get down; put down; set down.
  • verb take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
    begin; get; start out; set about; start; set out; commence.
    • We began working at dawn
    • Who will start?
    • Get working as soon as the sun rises!
    • The first tourists began to arrive in Cambodia
    • He began early in the day
    • Let's get down to work now
WordNet

go down

  • verb move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
    descend; come down; fall.
    • The temperature is going down
    • The barometer is falling
    • The curtain fell on the diva
    • Her hand went up and then fell again
  • verb go under, "The raft sank and its occupants drowned"
    settle; sink; go under.
  • verb grow smaller
    decline; wane.
    • Interest in the project waned
  • verb be recorded or remembered
    • She will go down as the first feminist
  • verb be ingested
    • This wine sure goes down well
    • The food wouldn't go down
  • verb be defeated
    • If America goes down, the free world will go down, too
  • verb disappear beyond the horizon
    set; go under.
    • the sun sets early these days
  • verb stop operating
    crash.
    • My computer crashed last night
    • The system goes down at least once a week
WordNet

go down on

  • verb provide sexual gratification through oral stimulation
    blow; fellate; suck.
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goose down

  • noun down of the goose
WordNet

grind down

  • verb rule a country as a tyrant
    tyrannize; tyrannise.
WordNet

gun down

  • verb strike down or shoot down
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hampshire down

  • noun British breed of hornless dark-faced domestic sheep
    Hampshire.
WordNet

hand down

  • verb passed on, as by inheritance
    • This ring was handed down through many generations
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hand-down

  • adjective satellite passed on from one person to another
    hand-down.
    • not too proud to wear hand-me-down clothes
WordNet

hand-me-down

  • noun outgrown garment passed down from one person to another
  • adjective satellite passed on from one person to another
    hand-down.
    • not too proud to wear hand-me-down clothes
WordNet

handed-down

  • adjective satellite having been passed along from generation to generation
    tralatitious.
    • among Biblical critics a tralatitious interpretation is one received by expositor from expositor
WordNet

hands down

  • adverb with no difficulty
    handily.
    • she beat him handily
WordNet

hands-down

  • adjective satellite achieved without great effort
    • a hands-down victory
WordNet

have down

  • verb have (something) mastered
    • She has the names of the fifty states down pat
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Helm down

  • helm alee.
Webster 1913

hold down

  • verb keep
    • She manages to hold down two jobs
  • verb restrain
    • please hold down the noise so that the neighbors can sleep
WordNet

hold-down

  • noun a limitation or constraint
    • taxpayers want a hold-down on government spending
WordNet

hose down

  • verb water with a hose
    hose.
    • hose the lawn
WordNet

Hull down

  • said of a ship so distant that her hull is concealed by the convexity of the sea.
Webster 1913

hunker down

  • verb sit on one's heels
    scrunch; crouch; hunker; squat; scrunch up.
    • In some cultures, the women give birth while squatting
    • The children hunkered down to protect themselves from the sandstorm
  • verb take shelter
    • During the sandstorm, they hunkered down in a small hut
  • verb hold stubbornly to a position
    • The wife hunkered down and the husband's resistance began to break down
WordNet

hunt down

  • verb pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals)
    hunt down; hunt; run.
    • Goering often hunted wild boars in Poland
    • The dogs are running deer
    • The Duke hunted in these woods
WordNet

john l. h. down

  • noun English physician who first described Down's syndrome (1828-1896)
    Down.
WordNet

jot down

  • verb write briefly or hurriedly; write a short note of
    jot.
WordNet

jumping up and down

  • noun jumping in one spot (as in excitement)
    • the wailing and jumping up and down exhausted him
WordNet

keep down

  • verb place a limit on the number of
    number.
  • verb put down by force or intimidation
    subdue; reduce; repress; quash; subjugate.
    • The government quashes any attempt of an uprising
    • China keeps down her dissidents very efficiently
    • The rich landowners subjugated the peasants working the land
  • verb manage not to throw up
WordNet

kick down

  • verb open violently
    kick in.
    • kick in the doors
WordNet

kip down

  • verb prepare for sleep
    retire; sack out; hit the sack; bed; turn in; go to bed; go to sleep; crawl in; hit the hay.
    • I usually turn in at midnight
    • He goes to bed at the crack of dawn
WordNet

knock down

  • verb cause to come or go down
    down; knock down; pull down; cut down.
    • The policeman downed the heavily armed suspect
    • The mugger knocked down the old lady after she refused to hand over her wallet
  • verb knock down with force
    floor; dump; coldcock; deck.
    • He decked his opponent
  • verb shatter as if by explosion
    blast.
WordNet

knock-down

  • adjective satellite strong enough to knock down or overwhelm
    powerful.
    • a knock-down blow
WordNet

knock-down-and-drag-out

  • adjective satellite extremely violent
    knockdown-dragout.
    • a knock-down-and-drag-out fight
WordNet

knuckle down

  • verb work very hard, like a slave
    buckle down; break one's back; slave.
WordNet

lay down

  • verb institute, enact, or establish
    make; establish.
    • make laws
WordNet

let down

  • verb move something or somebody to a lower position
    lower; get down; let down; bring down.
    • take down the vase from the shelf
  • verb fail to meet the hopes or expectations of
    disappoint.
    • Her boyfriend let her down when he did not propose marriage
WordNet

letting down

  • noun the act of causing something to move to a lower level
    lowering.
WordNet

lie down

  • verb assume a reclining position
    lie.
    • lie down on the bed until you feel better
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live down

  • verb live so as to annul some previous behavior
    unlive.
    • You can never live this down!
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load down

  • verb load with a pack
    pack.
WordNet

loaded down

  • adjective satellite heavily burdened with work or cares
    bowed down; loaded down; overburdened.
    • bowed down with troubles
    • found himself loaded down with responsibilities
    • overburdened social workers
    • weighed down with cares
  • adjective satellite bearing a physically heavy weight or load
    burdened; heavy-laden.
    • tree limbs burdened with ice
    • a heavy-laden cart
    • loaded down with packages
WordNet

lock-down

Lock"-down` noun
Definitions
  1. A contrivance to fasten logs together in rafting; -- used by lumbermen. U.S.
Webster 1913

look down on

  • verb regard with contempt
    • the new neighbor looks down on us because our house is very modest
WordNet

low-down

  • noun slang terms for inside information
    dope; the skinny; poop.
    • is that the straight dope?
  • adjective satellite of the most contemptible kind
    scurvy; scummy; low; abject; miserable.
    • abject cowardice
    • a low stunt to pull
    • a low-down sneak
    • his miserable treatment of his family
    • You miserable skunk!
    • a scummy rabble
    • a scurvy trick
  • adjective satellite (of jazz) having the soulful feeling of early blues
    funky.
WordNet

mark down

  • verb reduce the price of
WordNet

melt down

  • verb reduce or cause to be reduced from a solid to a liquid state, usually by heating
    run; melt.
    • melt butter
    • melt down gold
    • The wax melted in the sun
WordNet

mow down

  • verb kill a large number of people indiscriminately
    massacre; slaughter.
    • The Hutus massacred the Tutsis in Rwanda
WordNet

nail down

  • verb succeed in obtaining a position
    nail; peg.
    • He nailed down a spot at Harvard
  • verb define clearly
    nail down; narrow down; narrow; specify; peg down.
    • I cannot narrow down the rules for this game
  • verb make final; put the last touches on; put into final form
    settle; finalise; finalize.
    • let's finalize the proposal
WordNet

narrow down

  • verb define clearly
    nail down; narrow down; narrow; specify; peg down.
    • I cannot narrow down the rules for this game
  • verb become more focus on an area of activity or field of study
    specialise; specialize; narrow.
    • She specializes in Near Eastern history
WordNet

pare down

  • verb decrease gradually or bit by bit
    pare.
WordNet

peg down

  • verb fasten or secure with a wooden pin
    peg.
    • peg a tent
  • verb define clearly
    nail down; narrow down; narrow; specify; peg down.
    • I cannot narrow down the rules for this game
WordNet

pegged-down

  • adjective satellite fastened by pegs
    • the pegged-down branches of the plant will take root
WordNet

pin down

  • verb define clearly
    nail down; narrow down; narrow; specify; peg down.
    • I cannot narrow down the rules for this game
  • verb place in a confining or embarrassing position
    trap.
    • He was trapped in a difficult situation
  • verb attach with or as if with a pin
    pin up.
    • pin up a picture
WordNet

pipe down

  • verb become quiet or quieter
    quiesce; pipe down; quiet; hush; quieten.
    • The audience fell silent when the speaker entered
WordNet

place down

  • verb cause to sit or seat or be in a settled position or place
    place down; put down.
    • set down your bags here
WordNet

plank down

  • verb drop heavily
    plonk down; plank down.
WordNet

play down

  • verb understate the importance or quality of
    downplay; background.
    • he played down his royal ancestry
WordNet

plonk down

  • verb drop heavily
    plonk down; plank down.
WordNet

plump down

  • verb drop heavily
    plonk down; plank down.
  • verb set (something or oneself) down with or as if with a noise
    plop; plunk; plonk; flump; plump; plank; plump down.
    • He planked the money on the table
    • He planked himself into the sofa
WordNet

plunk down

  • verb set (something or oneself) down with or as if with a noise
    plop; plunk; plonk; flump; plump; plank; plump down.
    • He planked the money on the table
    • He planked himself into the sofa
WordNet

pour down

  • verb drink down entirely
    drink down; bolt down; pop; belt down; down; kill; toss off.
    • He downed three martinis before dinner
    • She killed a bottle of brandy that night
    • They popped a few beer after work
WordNet

Powder down

  • (Zoöl.), the peculiar dust, or exfoliation, of powder-down feathers.
Webster 1913

Powder-down feather

  • (Zoöl.), one of a peculiar kind of modified feathers which sometimes form patches on certain parts of some birds. They have a greasy texture and a scaly exfoliation.
Webster 1913

Powder-down patch

  • (Zoöl.), a tuft or patch of powder-down feathers.
Webster 1913

press down

  • verb press down
    depress.
    • Depress the space key
WordNet

press down on

  • verb exert a force with a heavy weight
    drag down; press down on; bear down; bear down on.
    • The snow bore down on the roof
WordNet

pull down

  • verb tear down so as to make flat with the ground
    rase; level; take down; dismantle; pull down; raze.
    • The building was levelled
  • verb cause to come or go down
    down; knock down; pull down; cut down.
    • The policeman downed the heavily armed suspect
    • The mugger knocked down the old lady after she refused to hand over her wallet
WordNet

push down

  • verb cause to come or go down
    down; knock down; pull down; cut down.
    • The policeman downed the heavily armed suspect
    • The mugger knocked down the old lady after she refused to hand over her wallet
WordNet

push-down list

  • noun a list in which the next item to be removed is the item most recently stored (LIFO)
    stack; push-down list.
WordNet

push-down queue

  • noun a queue in which the last item to go in is the first item to come out (LIFO)
WordNet

push-down stack

  • noun a list in which the next item to be removed is the item most recently stored (LIFO)
    stack; push-down list.
WordNet

push-down storage

  • noun a storage device that handles data so that the next item to be retrieved is the item most recently stored (LIFO)
    push-down storage; stack.
WordNet

push-down store

  • noun a storage device that handles data so that the next item to be retrieved is the item most recently stored (LIFO)
    push-down storage; stack.
WordNet

put down

  • verb cause to sit or seat or be in a settled position or place
    place down; put down.
    • set down your bags here
  • verb put in a horizontal position
    repose; lay.
    • lay the books on the table
    • lay the patient carefully onto the bed
  • verb cause to come to the ground
    bring down; land.
    • the pilot managed to land the airplane safely
  • verb reduce in worth or character, usually verbally
    demean; disgrace; degrade; put down.
    • She tends to put down younger women colleagues
    • His critics took him down after the lecture
  • verb leave or unload
    unload; drop off; drop; put down; discharge.
    • unload the cargo
    • drop off the passengers at the hotel
  • verb put (an animal) to death
    destroy.
    • The customs agents destroyed the dog that was found to be rabid
    • the sick cat had to be put down
  • verb put down in writing; of texts, musical compositions, etc.
    get down; put down; set down.
  • verb make a record of; set down in permanent form
    record; enter.
WordNet

put-down

  • noun a crushing remark
    squelch; squelcher; takedown.
WordNet

quiet down

  • verb become quiet or quieter
    quiesce; pipe down; quiet; hush; quieten.
    • The audience fell silent when the speaker entered
WordNet

rain down

  • verb precipitate as rain
    rain.
    • If it rains much more, we can expect some flooding
WordNet

ram down

  • verb strike or drive against with a heavy impact
    ram; pound.
    • ram the gate with a sledgehammer
    • pound on the door
  • verb teach by drills and repetition
    hammer in; beat in; drill in.
WordNet

ratchet down

  • verb move by degrees in one direction only
    ratchet; rachet up.
    • a ratcheting lopping tool
WordNet

rattle down

  • verb recite volubly or extravagantly
    spiel off; roll off; reel off; rattle off.
    • He could recite the names of all the chemical elements
WordNet

remain down

  • verb be counted out; remain down while the referee counts to ten
    take the count.
WordNet

right-down

  • adjective satellite complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers
    sheer; rank; downright; out-and-out; absolute.
    • absolute freedom
    • an absolute dimwit
    • a downright lie
    • out-and-out mayhem
    • an out-and-out lie
    • a rank outsider
    • many right-down vices
    • got the job through sheer persistence
    • sheer stupidity
  • adverb positively
    • a regular right-down bad 'un"--Charles Dickens
WordNet

roll down

  • verb gather into a huge mass and roll down a mountain, of snow
    avalanche.
WordNet

rope down

  • verb lower oneself with a rope coiled around the body from a mountainside
    abseil; rappel.
    • The ascent was easy--roping down the mountain would be much more difficult and dangerous
    • You have to learn how to abseil when you want to do technical climbing
WordNet

round down

  • verb express as a round number
    round out; round; round off.
    • round off the amount
WordNet

rub down

  • verb wear away
    corrade; rub off; abrase; abrade.
  • verb manually manipulate (someone's body), usually for medicinal or relaxation purposes
    knead; massage.
    • She rubbed down her child with a sponge
WordNet

run down

  • verb trace
    check out.
    • We are running down a few tips
  • verb move downward
    • The water ran down
  • verb injure or kill by running over, as with a vehicle
    run over.
  • verb use up all one's strength and energy and stop working
    run out; peter out; poop out; conk out.
    • At the end of the march, I pooped out
  • verb examine hastily
    glance over; rake; skim; scan.
    • She scanned the newspaper headlines while waiting for the taxi
  • verb deplete
    exhaust; play out; sap; tire.
    • exhaust one's savings
    • We quickly played out our strength
  • verb pursue until captured
    • They ran down the fugitive
WordNet

run-down

  • adjective satellite worn and broken down by hard use
    woebegone; creaky; decrepit; derelict; flea-bitten.
    • a creaky shack
    • a decrepit bus...its seats held together with friction tape
    • a flea-bitten sofa
    • a run-down neighborhood
    • a woebegone old shack
  • adjective satellite having the spring unwound
    • a run-down watch
WordNet

sag down

  • verb cause to sag
    sag.
    • The children sagged their bottoms down even more comfortably
WordNet

scale down

  • verb reduce proportionally
    • The model is scaled down
  • verb make smaller
    reduce.
    • reduce an image
WordNet

Seed down

  • (Bot.), the soft hairs on certain seeds, as cotton seed.
Webster 1913

send down

  • verb suspend temporarily from college or university, in England
    rusticate.
WordNet

set down

  • verb put down in writing; of texts, musical compositions, etc.
    get down; put down; set down.
  • verb reach or come to rest
    land.
    • The bird landed on the highest branch
    • The plane landed in Istanbul
  • verb put or settle into a position
    • The hotel was set down at the bottom of the valley
  • verb cause to sit or seat or be in a settled position or place
    place down; put down.
    • set down your bags here
  • verb go ashore
    disembark; debark.
    • The passengers disembarked at Southampton
  • verb leave or unload
    unload; drop off; drop; put down; discharge.
    • unload the cargo
    • drop off the passengers at the hotel
WordNet

settle down

  • verb settle into a position, usually on a surface or ground
    settle.
    • dust settled on the roofs
  • verb become settled or established and stable in one's residence or life style
    settle; root; take root; settle down.
    • He finally settled down
  • verb become quiet or calm, especially after a state of agitation
    cool off; calm; calm down; cool it; chill out; settle down.
    • After the fight both men need to cool off.
    • It took a while after the baby was born for things to settle down again.
WordNet

shoot down

  • verb move quickly and violently
    tear; shoot; charge; buck.
    • The car tore down the street
    • He came charging into my office
  • verb shoot at and force to come down
    down; land.
    • the enemy landed several of our aircraft
  • verb thwart the passage of
    vote out; kill; shoot down; defeat.
    • kill a motion
    • he shot down the student's proposal
WordNet

shoot-down

  • noun murder by shooting someone down in cold blood
WordNet

shout down

  • verb silence or overwhelm by shouting
WordNet

shower down

  • verb rain abundantly
    shower.
    • Meteors showered down over half of Australia
WordNet

shut down

  • verb cease to operate or cause to cease operating
    close; close up; close down; fold.
    • The owners decided to move and to close the factory
    • My business closes every night at 8 P.M.
    • close up the shop
WordNet

simmer down

  • verb become quiet or calm, especially after a state of agitation
    cool off; calm; calm down; cool it; chill out; settle down.
    • After the fight both men need to cool off.
    • It took a while after the baby was born for things to settle down again.
WordNet

sit down

  • verb take a seat
    sit.
  • verb show to a seat; assign a seat for
    sit; seat.
    • The host seated me next to Mrs. Smith
  • verb be seated
    sit.
WordNet

sit-down

  • noun a strike in which workers refuse to leave the workplace until a settlement is reached
    sit-down.
WordNet

sit-down strike

  • noun a strike in which workers refuse to leave the workplace until a settlement is reached
    sit-down.
WordNet

sleek down

  • verb give a smooth and glossy appearance
    sleek down; slick.
    • slick one's hair
WordNet

slick down

  • verb give a smooth and glossy appearance
    sleek down; slick.
    • slick one's hair
WordNet

slide down

  • verb fall or sink heavily
    slump; sink.
    • He slumped onto the couch
    • My spirits sank
WordNet

slim down

  • verb take off weight
    slim; melt off; slenderize; reduce; lose weight; thin.
WordNet

slow down

  • verb lose velocity; move more slowly
    decelerate; slow; retard; slow up.
    • The car decelerated
  • verb become slow or slower
    slacken; slow; slack; slow up.
    • Production slowed
  • verb cause to proceed more slowly
    slow; slow up.
    • The illness slowed him down
  • verb reduce the speed of
    decelerate.
    • He slowed down the car
  • verb become less tense, rest, or take one's ease
    unwind; unbend; relax; decompress; loosen up.
    • He relaxed in the hot tub
    • Let's all relax after a hard day's work
WordNet

sluice down

  • verb pour as if from a sluice
    sluice.
    • An aggressive tide sluiced across the barrier reef
WordNet

split down

  • noun a decrease in the number of outstanding shares of a corporation without changing the shareholders' equity
    reverse stock split; reverse split.
WordNet

sponge down

  • verb clean with a sponge, by rubbing
    sponge off.
  • verb wash with a sponge
WordNet

stamp down

  • verb to put down by force or authority
    inhibit; subdue; suppress; curb; conquer.
    • suppress a nascent uprising
    • stamp down on littering
    • conquer one's desires
WordNet

stand-down

  • noun a suspension and relaxation from an alert state or a state of readiness
    standdown.
  • noun (military) a temporary stop of offensive military action
    standdown.
WordNet

stare down

  • verb overcome or cause to waver or submit by (or as if by) staring
    outface; outstare.
    • He simply stared down his opponent
WordNet

steady down

  • verb become settled or established and stable in one's residence or life style
    settle; root; take root; settle down.
    • He finally settled down
WordNet

steep-down

Steep"-down` adjective
Definitions
  1. Deep and precipitous, having steep descent. R.
    Wash me in steep-down gulfs of liquid fire. Shak.
Webster 1913

step down

  • verb give up or retire from a position
    quit; leave office; resign.
    • The Secretary of the Navy will leave office next month
    • The chairman resigned over the financial scandal
  • verb reduce the level or intensity or size or scope of
    de-escalate; weaken.
    • de-escalate a crisis
WordNet

step-down

  • noun the act of decreasing or reducing something
    diminution; reduction; decrease.
WordNet

step-down transformer

  • noun a transformer that reduces voltage
WordNet

stepping down

  • noun a formal resignation and renunciation of powers
    abdication.
  • noun the act of abdicating
    abdication.
WordNet

strike down

  • verb declare null and void; make ineffective
    cancel.
    • Cancel the election results
    • strike down a law
  • verb cause to die, especially suddenly
    • The disease struck down many young men in the village
  • verb cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
    drop; fell; cut down.
    • strike down a tree
    • Lightning struck down the hikers
WordNet

strip down

  • verb get undressed
    uncase; peel; undress; strip; unclothe; disrobe; discase.
    • please don't undress in front of everybody!
    • She strips in front of strangers every night for a living
WordNet

stripped-down

  • adjective satellite having only essential or minimal features
    stripped.
    • a stripped new car
    • a stripped-down budget
WordNet

swan's down

  • noun soft woolen fabric used especially for baby clothes
  • noun down of the swan
WordNet

swan's-down

Swan's"-down`, Swans"-down` noun (Also<
  • Swan's-down
  • Swans-down
)
Definitions
  1. The down, or fine, soft feathers, of the swan, used on various articles of dress.
  2. A fine, soft, thick cloth of wool mixed with silk or cotton; a sort of twilled fustian, like moleskin.
Webster 1913

Swan's-down cotton

  • . See Cotton flannel, under Cotton.
Webster 1913

swill down

  • verb drink large quantities of (liquid, especially alcoholic drink)
    swill.
WordNet

take down

  • verb move something or somebody to a lower position
    lower; get down; let down; bring down.
    • take down the vase from the shelf
  • verb reduce in worth or character, usually verbally
    demean; disgrace; degrade; put down.
    • She tends to put down younger women colleagues
    • His critics took him down after the lecture
  • verb tear down so as to make flat with the ground
    rase; level; take down; dismantle; pull down; raze.
    • The building was levelled
  • verb make a written note of
    note.
    • she noted everything the teacher said that morning
WordNet

take lying down

  • verb suffer without protest; suffer or endure passively
    • I won't take this insult lying down
WordNet

talk down

  • verb belittle through talk
  • verb speak in a condescending manner, as if to a child
    • He talks down to her
  • verb direct and control (the flight of an airplane during landing) via radio
    • the control tower talked down the plane whose pilot fell ill
WordNet

tamp down

  • verb press down tightly
    tamp; pack.
    • tamp the coffee grinds in the container to make espresso
WordNet

tear down

  • verb tear down so as to make flat with the ground
    rase; level; take down; dismantle; pull down; raze.
    • The building was levelled
WordNet

tearing down

  • noun complete destruction of a building
    demolishing; leveling; razing.
WordNet

tie down

  • verb secure with or as if with ropes
    bind; tie up; truss.
    • tie down the prisoners
    • tie up the old newspapers and bring them to the recycling shed
  • verb restrain from independence by an obligation
    • He was tied down by his work
WordNet

To scale, ∨ scale down, a debt, wages, etc.

  • to reduce a debt, etc., according to a fixed ratio or scale. U.S.
Webster 1913

To back out, To back down

  • to retreat or withdraw from a promise, engagement, or contest; to recede. Colloq.
Webster 1913

To batten down

  • to fasten down with battens, as the tarpaulin over the hatches of a ship during a storm.
Webster 1913

To batten down the hatches

  • (Naut.), to lay tarpaulins over them, and secure them with battens.
Webster 1913

To be down at the heel

  • to be slovenly or in a poor plight.
Webster 1913

To be down on

  • to dislike and treat harshly. Slang, U.S.
Webster 1913

To bear down

  • . (a) To force into a lower place; to carry down; to depress or sink. "His nose, . . . large as were the others, bore them down into insignificance." Marryat. (b) To overthrow or crush by force; as, to bear down an enemy.
Webster 1913

To bear down upon

  • (Naut.), to approach from the windward side; as, the fleet bore down upon the enemy.
Webster 1913

To beat down

  • to haggle with (any one) to secure a lower price; to force down. Colloq.
Webster 1913

To beat up and down

  • (Hunting), to run first one way and then another; said of a stag.
Webster 1913

To boil down

  • to reduce in bulk by boiling; as, to boil down sap or sirup.
Webster 1913

To break down

  • . (a) To crush; to overwhelm; as, to break down one's strength; to break down opposition. (b) To remove, or open a way through, by breaking; as, to break down a door or wall.
  • . (a) To come down by breaking; as, the coach broke down. (b) To fail in any undertaking.
    He had broken down almost at the outset. Thackeray.
Webster 1913

To bring down

  • . (a) To cause to come down. (b) To humble or abase; as, to bring down high looks.
Webster 1913

To bring down the house

  • to cause tremendous applause. Colloq.
Webster 1913

To burn up, To burn down

  • to burn entirely.
  • to be entirely consumed.
Webster 1913

To call down

  • to pray for, as blessing or curses.
Webster 1913

To cast down

  • to throw down; to destroy; to deject or depress, as the mind. "Why art thou cast down. O my soul?" Ps. xiii. 5.
Webster 1913

To clew down

  • (Naut.), to force (a yard) down by hauling on the clew lines.
Webster 1913

To come down

  • . (a) To descend. (b) To be humbled.
Webster 1913

To come down upon

  • to call to account, to reprimand. Colloq. Dickens.
Webster 1913

To cough down

  • to silence or put down (an objectionable speaker) by simulated coughing.
Webster 1913

To cry down

  • to decry; to depreciate; to dispraise; to condemn.
    Men of dissolute lives cry down religion, because they would not be under the restraints of it. Tillotson.
Webster 1913

To cut down

  • . (a) To sever and cause to fall; to fell; to prostrate. "Timber . . . cut down in the mountains of Cilicia." Knolles. (b) To put down; to abash; to humble, Obs "So great is his natural eloquence, that he cuts doun the finest orator." Addison (c) To lessen; to retrench; to curtail; as, to cut down expenses. (d) (Naut.) To raze; as, to cut down a frigate into a sloop.
Webster 1913

To dig down

  • to undermine and cause to fall by digging; as, to dig down a wall.
Webster 1913

To drink down

  • to act on by drinking; to reduce or subdue; as, to drink down unkindness. Shak.
Webster 1913

To drop down

  • (Naut.), to sail, row, or move down a river, or toward the sea.
Webster 1913

To edge down

  • (Naut.), to approach by slow degrees, as when a sailing vessel approaches an object in an oblique direction from the windward.
Webster 1913

To face down

  • to put down by bold or impudent opposition. "He faced men down." Prior.
Webster 1913

To fall down

  • . (a) To prostrate one's self in worship. "All kings shall fall down before him." Ps. lxxii. 11. (b) To sink; to come to the ground. "Down fell the beauteous youth." Dryden. (c) To bend or bow, as a suppliant. (d) (Naut.) To sail or drift toward the mouth of a river or other outlet.
Webster 1913

To fling down

  • . (a) To throw to the ground; esp., to throw in defiance, as formerly knights cast a glove into the arena as a challenge.
    This question so flung down before the guests, . . . Was handed over by consent of all To me who had not spoken. Tennyson.
    (b) To overturn; to demolish; to ruin.
Webster 1913

To go down

  • . (a) To descend. (b) To go below the horizon; as, the sun has gone down. (c) To sink; to founder; said of ships, etc. (d) To be swallowed; used literally or figuratively. Colloq.
    Nothing so ridiculous, . . . but it goes down whole with him for truth. L' Estrange.
Webster 1913

To hand down

  • to transmit in succession, as from father to son, or from predecessor to successor; as, fables are handed down from age to age; to forward to the proper officer (the decision of a higher court); as, the Clerk of the Court of Appeals handed down its decision.
Webster 1913

To hang down

  • to let fall below the proper position; to bend down; to decline; as, to hang down the head, or, elliptically, to hang the head.
Webster 1913

To heave a ship down

  • (Naut.), to throw or lay her down on one side; to careen her.
Webster 1913

To keep down

  • . (a) To hold in subjection; to restrain; to hinder . (b) (Fine Arts) To subdue in tint or tone, as a portion of a picture, so that the spectator's attention may not be diverted from the more important parts of the work.
Webster 1913

To knock down

  • . (a) To strike down; to fell; to prostrate by a blow or by blows; as, to knock down an assailant . (b) To assign to a bidder at an auction, by a blow or knock; to knock off.
Webster 1913

To laugh down

  • . (a) To cause to cease or desist by laughter; as, to laugh down a speaker . (b) To cause to be given up on account of ridicule; as, to laugh down a reform.
Webster 1913

To lay down

  • . (a) To stake as a wager. (b) To yield; to relinquish; to surrender; as, to lay down one's life; to lay down one's arms . (c) To assert or advance, as a proposition or principle.
Webster 1913

To let down

  • . (a) To lower . (b) To soften in tempering; as to let down tools, cutlery, and the like. to let (someone) down. to disappoint (someone) by filing to perform as expected.
Webster 1913

To live down

  • to live so as to subdue or refute; as, to live down slander.
Webster 1913

To look down onupon

  • to treat with indifference or contempt; to regard as an inferior; to despise.
Webster 1913

To pluck down

  • to pull down; to demolish; to reduce to a lower state.
Webster 1913

To preach down

  • to oppress, or humiliate by preaching. Tennyson.
Webster 1913

To pull down

  • to demolish; to destroy; to degrade; as, to pull down a house. " In political affairs, as well as mechanical, it is easier to pull down than build up." Howell. " To raise the wretched, and pull down the proud." Roscommon.
Webster 1913

To push down

  • to overthrow by pushing or impulse.
Webster 1913

To put down

  • . (a) To lay down; to deposit; to set down. (b) To lower; to diminish; as, to put down prices . (c) To deprive of position or power; to put a stop to; to suppress; to abolish; to confute; as, to put down rebellion of traitors .
    Mark, how a plain tale shall put you down. Shak.
    Sugar hath put down the use of honey. Bacon.
    (d) To subscribe; as, to put down one's name.
Webster 1913

To put one's foot down

  • to take a resolute stand; to be determined. Colloq.
Webster 1913

To ride down

  • . (a) To ride over; to trample down in riding; to overthrow by riding against; as, to ride down an enemy . (b) (Naut.) To bear down, as on a halyard when hoisting a sail.
Webster 1913

To rub down

  • . (a) To clean by rubbing; to comb or curry; as, to down a horse . (b) To reduce or remove by rubbing; as, to rub down the rough points.
Webster 1913

To run down

  • . (a) To cease to work or operate on account of the exhaustion of the motive power; said of clocks, watches, etc. batteries (b) To decline in condition; as, to run down in health.
  • . (a) (Hunting) To chase till the object pursued is captured or exhausted; as, to run down, a stag . (b) (Naut.) To run against and sink, as a vessel . (c) To crush; to overthrow; to overbear .
    "religion is run down by the license of these times." Berkeley.
    (d) To disparage; to traduce. F. W. Newman.
Webster 1913

To run down a coast

  • to sail along it.
Webster 1913

To salt away, To salt down

  • to prepare with, or pack in, salt for preserving, as meat, eggs, etc.; hence, colloquially, to save, lay up, or invest sagely, as money.
Webster 1913

To seed down

  • to sow with grass seed.
Webster 1913

To set, ∨ To put, up, ∨ down, one's staff

  • to take up one's residence; to lodge. Obs.
Webster 1913

To set down

  • . (a) To enter in writing; to register.
    Some rules were to be set down for the government of the army. Clarendon.
    (b) To fix; to establish; to ordain.
    This law we may name eternal, being that order which God . . . hath set down with himself, for himself to do all things by. Hooker.
    (c) To humiliate.
Webster 1913

To sit down

  • . (a) To place one's self on a chair or other seat; as, to sit down when tired . (b) To begin a siege; as, the enemy sat down before the town . (c) To settle; to fix a permanent abode . Spenser. (d) To rest; to cease as satisfied. "Here we can not sit down, but still proceed in our search." Rogers.
Webster 1913

To stock down

  • (Agric.), to sow, as plowed land, with grass seed, in order that it may become swarded, and produce grass.
Webster 1913

To take down

  • . (a) To reduce; to bring down, as from a high, or higher, place; as, to take down a book; hence, to bring lower; to depress; to abase or humble; as, to take down pride, or the proud . "I never attempted to be impudent yet, that I was not taken down." Goldsmith. (b) To swallow; as, to take down a potion. (c) To pull down; to pull to pieces; as, to take down a house or a scaffold . (d) To record; to write down; as, to take down a man's words at the time he utters them.
Webster 1913

To tear down

  • to demolish violently; to pull or pluck down.
Webster 1913

To throw down

  • to subvert; to overthrow; to destroy; as, to throw down a fence or wall.
Webster 1913

To throw down the gauntlet

  • to offer or send a challenge. The gauntlet or glove was thrown down by the knight challenging, and was taken up by the one who accepted the challenge; hence the phrases.
Webster 1913

To throw down the glove

  • to challenge to combat.
Webster 1913

To throw one's self down

  • to lie down neglectively or suddenly.
Webster 1913

To tie down

  • . (a) To fasten so as to prevent from rising. (b) To restrain; to confine; to hinder from action.
Webster 1913

To tone down

  • . (a) To cause to give lower tone or sound; to give a lower tone to. (b) (Paint.) To modify, as color, by making it less brilliant or less crude; to modify, as a composition of color, by making it more harmonius.
    Its thousand hues toned down harmoniusly. C. Kingsley.
    (c) Fig.: To moderate or relax; to diminish or weaken the striking characteristics of; to soften.
    The best method for the purpose in hand was to employ some one of a character and position suited to get possession of their confidence, and then use it to tone down their religious strictures. Palfrey.
Webster 1913

To turn down

  • . (a) To fold or double down. (b) To turn over so as to conceal the face of; as, to turn down cards. (c) To lower, or reduce in size, by turning a valve, stopcock, or the like; as, turn down the lights.
Webster 1913

To turn upside down

  • to confuse by putting things awry; to throw into disorder.
    This house is turned upside down since Robin Ostler died. Shak.
Webster 1913

To weigh down

  • . (a) To overbalance. (b) To oppress with weight; to overburden; to depress. "To weigh thy spirits down."
  • to sink by its own weight.
Webster 1913

tone down

  • verb deaden (a sound or noise), especially by wrapping
    dampen; mute; muffle; damp; dull.
  • verb make less strong or intense; soften
    moderate; tame.
    • Tone down that aggressive letter
    • The author finally tamed some of his potentially offensive statements
WordNet

top-down

  • adjective of an approach to a problem that begins at the highest conceptual level and works down to the details
    • a top-down analysis might begin by looking at macro-economic trends
    • top-down programming
WordNet

touch down

  • verb come or bring (a plane) to a landing
    • the plane touched down at noon
WordNet

track down

  • verb pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals)
    hunt down; hunt; run.
    • Goering often hunted wild boars in Poland
    • The dogs are running deer
    • The Duke hunted in these woods
WordNet

tramp down

  • verb walk on and flatten
    tramp down; trample.
    • tramp down the grass
    • trample the flowers
WordNet

tread down

  • verb walk on and flatten
    tramp down; trample.
    • tramp down the grass
    • trample the flowers
WordNet

trim down

  • verb cut down on; make a reduction in
    trim; cut; cut back; bring down; reduce; cut down; trim back.
    • reduce your daily fat intake
    • The employer wants to cut back health benefits
WordNet

tumble-down

  • adjective satellite in deplorable condition
    dilapidated; broken-down; tatterdemalion; ramshackle; derelict; bedraggled.
    • a street of bedraggled tenements
    • a broken-down fence
    • a ramshackle old pier
    • a tumble-down shack
WordNet
Tum"ble-down` adjective
Definitions
  1. Ready to fall; dilapidated; ruinous; as, a tumble-down house. Colloq.
Webster 1913

turn down

  • verb refuse to accept
    decline; refuse; pass up; reject.
    • He refused my offer of hospitality
  • verb refuse entrance or membership
    refuse; turn away; reject.
    • They turned away hundreds of fans
    • Black people were often rejected by country clubs
  • verb reject with contempt
    freeze off; spurn; disdain; reject; scorn; pooh-pooh.
    • She spurned his advances
  • verb take a downward direction
    • The economy finally turned down after a long boom
  • verb make lower or quieter
    lour; lower.
    • turn down the volume of a radio
WordNet

turn thumbs down

  • verb vote against
    turn thumbs down.
    • The faculty turned thumbs down on the candidate for the Dean position
WordNet

Union down

  • (Naut.), a signal of distress at sea made by reversing the flag, or turning its union downward.
Webster 1913

Up and down

  • adverb moving backward and forward along a given course
    • he walked up and down the locker room
    • all up and down the Eastern seaboard
  • adverb alternately upward and downward
    • he eyed him up and down
WordNet
  • with rising and falling motion; to and fro; hither and thither; everywhere. "Let them wander up and down." Ps. lix. 15.
Webster 1913

Ups and downs

  • alternate states of elevation and depression, or of prosperity and the contrary. Colloq.
Webster 1913

Upside down

  • adverb in an inverted manner
    • the box was lying on the floor upside down
WordNet
  • . Perhaps a corruption of OE. up so down, literally, up as down. With the upper part undermost; hence, in confusion; in complete disorder; topsy-turvy.
Webster 1913

upside-down

  • adjective satellite being in such a position that top and bottom are reversed
    inverted.
    • a quotation mark is sometimes called an inverted comma
    • an upside-down cake
WordNet

upside-down cake

  • noun batter baked atop a layer of sweetened fruit then turned upside down so fruit is on top
    skillet cake.
WordNet

vote down

  • verb thwart the passage of
    vote out; kill; shoot down; defeat.
    • kill a motion
    • he shot down the student's proposal
  • verb vote against
    turn thumbs down.
    • The faculty turned thumbs down on the candidate for the Dean position
WordNet

wash down

  • verb eat food accompanied by lots of liquid; also use metaphorically
    • She washed down her dinner with a bottle of red wine
    • He washes down his worries with a nightly glass of whisky
  • verb flow freely
    flush down.
    • The body washed down the river
WordNet

water down

  • verb make less strong or intense
    • water down the mixture
  • verb thin by adding water to
    • They watered down the moonshine
WordNet

wear down

  • verb exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress
    wear out; tire; jade; fag out; weary; fatigue; wear; tire out; outwear; fag; wear upon.
    • We wore ourselves out on this hike
  • verb deteriorate through use or stress
    wear out; wear off; wear thin; wear.
    • The constant friction wore out the cloth
WordNet

weigh down

  • verb be oppressive or disheartening to
    weigh on.
  • verb exert a force with a heavy weight
    drag down; press down on; bear down; bear down on.
    • The snow bore down on the roof
WordNet

weighed down

  • adjective satellite full of; bearing great weight
    heavy.
    • trees heavy with fruit
    • vines weighed down with grapes
  • adjective satellite heavily burdened with work or cares
    bowed down; loaded down; overburdened.
    • bowed down with troubles
    • found himself loaded down with responsibilities
    • overburdened social workers
    • weighed down with cares
WordNet

weight down

  • verb weight down with a load
    burthen; weight; burden.
WordNet

whittle down

  • verb cut away in small pieces
    whittle away; wear away.
WordNet

wolf down

  • verb eat hastily
    wolf.
    • The teenager wolfed down the pizza
WordNet

write down

  • verb put down in writing; of texts, musical compositions, etc.
    get down; put down; set down.
  • verb reduce the estimated value of something
    expense; write off.
    • For tax purposes you can write off the laser printer
WordNet

write-down

  • noun (accounting) reduction in the book value of an asset
    write-off.
WordNet