down·ward
ˈdau̇n-wərd 
variants
or downwards
1
a
: from a higher to a lower place
b
: toward a direction that is the opposite of up
2
: from a higher to a lower condition
3
a
: from an earlier time
b
: from an ancestor or predecessor
1
: moving or extending downward
2
: descending from a head, origin, or source
downwardly
adverb
downwardness
noun
Examples of downward in a Sentence
Adverb
The mountain streams flow downward to the lake.
Mud covered his pants from the knees downward.
Adjective
Sales continued their downward trend.
the downward revision of an estimate
Recent Examples on the Web
Jesse Emspak, Space.com, 25 Apr. 2025
These showed that a chunk was missing from the bottom of Earth’s crust beneath the volcanoes: For some reason, the bottom of the crust became heavy and dripped downward from the top part, leaving a gap.
—Alexandra Witze, JSTOR Daily, 24 Apr. 2025
Rachel Treisman, NPR, 29 Apr. 2025
The downward trend began earlier in the year, with February arrivals down 12 percent year-over-year—the steepest decline since the COVID-19 pandemic started.
—Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for downward
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Adverb
Draw a line from those two stars downward (north) and one encounters Polaris.
—Jesse Emspak, Space.com, 25 Apr. 2025
These showed that a chunk was missing from the bottom of Earth’s crust beneath the volcanoes: For some reason, the bottom of the crust became heavy and dripped downward from the top part, leaving a gap.
—Alexandra Witze, JSTOR Daily, 24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
Southwest border crossings were already on a downward trend when Trump took office in January, having declined throughout 2024 after a surge in 2023.
—Rachel Treisman, NPR, 29 Apr. 2025
The downward trend began earlier in the year, with February arrivals down 12 percent year-over-year—the steepest decline since the COVID-19 pandemic started.
—Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for downward
Cite this Entry
“Downward.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/downward. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
downward
1 of 2 adverb
down·ward
ˈdau̇n-wərd
variants
or downwards
1
: from a higher place or condition to a lower one
2
: from an earlier time
downward
2 of 2 adjective
: moving or reaching down
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