- Downstairs
- Meaning: Refers to the lower floor or the floor beneath the one you are currently on.
- Example: “I left my keys downstairs.”
- Downhill
- Meaning: Going in a downward direction, or referring to something getting worse or declining.
- Example: “The car rolled downhill.” or “After that mistake, things went downhill.”
- Downpour
- Meaning: A heavy, intense rainstorm.
- Example: “We had to wait inside because of the downpour.”
- Downcast
- Meaning: Feeling sad, discouraged, or having a downward gaze (physically looking down).
- Example: “She felt downcast after hearing the news.”
- Downsize
- Meaning: To reduce the size of something, often referring to a company reducing its workforce or a person reducing personal belongings.
- Example: “The company had to downsize due to financial difficulties.”
- Downbeat
- Meaning: Describes something with a negative or pessimistic tone, or a musical term referring to the first beat of a measure.
- Example: “The movie’s ending had a downbeat tone.” or “The conductor tapped the downbeat.”
- Downwind
- Meaning: The direction in which the wind is blowing.
- Example: “We were sailing downwind towards the harbor.”
- Downfall
- Meaning: A sudden loss of power, success, or position; a ruinous decline.
- Example: “His downfall came after the scandal.”
- Downplay
- Meaning: To make something seem less important or serious than it actually is.
- Example: “The politician tried to downplay the significance of the mistake.”
- Downsize
- Meaning: To make something smaller or more efficient by reducing the number of people, items, or things involved.
- Example: “Many families are choosing to downsize to smaller homes.”
These compound words are built by combining “down” with other words to convey a variety of meanings related to direction, size, intensity, mood, or position.