descend
Americanverb (used without object)
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to go or pass from a higher to a lower place; move or come down.
to descend from the mountaintop.
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to pass from higher to lower in any scale or series.
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to go from generals to particulars, as in a discussion.
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to slope, tend, or lead downward.
The path descends to the pond.
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to be inherited or transmitted, as through succeeding generations of a family.
The title descends through eldest sons.
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to have a specific person or family among one's ancestors (usually followed byfrom ).
He is descended from Cromwell.
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to be derived from something remote in time, especially through continuous transmission.
This festival descends from a druidic rite.
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to approach or pounce upon, especially in a greedy or hasty manner (followed by on orupon ).
Thrill-seekers descended upon the scene of the crime.
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to settle, as a cloud or vapor.
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to appear or become manifest, as a supernatural being, state of mind, etc..
Jupiter descended to humankind.
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to attack, especially with violence and suddenness (usually followed by on orupon ).
to descend upon enemy soldiers.
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to sink or come down from a certain intellectual, moral, or social standard.
He would never descend to baseness.
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Astronomy. to move toward the horizon, as the sun or a star.
verb (used with object)
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to move downward upon or along; go or climb down (stairs, a hill, etc.).
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to extend or lead down along.
The path descends the hill.
verb
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(also tr) to move, pass, or go down (a hill, slope, staircase, etc)
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(of a hill, slope, or path) to lead or extend down; slope; incline
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to move to a lower level, pitch, etc; fall
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(often foll by from) to be connected by a blood relationship (to a dead or extinct individual, race, species, etc)
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to be passed on by parents or ancestors; be inherited
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to sink or come down in morals or behaviour; lower oneself
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to arrive or attack in a sudden or overwhelming way
their relatives descended upon them last week
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(of the sun, moon, etc) to move towards the horizon
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has descendedperfect 3rd person singular
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have descendedperfect
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am descendingprogressive 1st person singular
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is descendingprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been descendingperfect progressive
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descendssingular 3rd person
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are descendingprogressive
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has been descendingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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descendingparticiple
Past
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had descendedperfect
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was descendingprogressive singular
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had been descendingperfect progressive
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descendedparticiple
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descendedsimple
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were descendingprogressive plural
Future
Etymology
Origin of descend
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English descenden, from Old French descendre, from Latin dēscendere, equivalent to dē- de- + -scendere, combining form of scandere “to climb”; cf. scansion
Explanation
In its simplest sense, descend means to go or move downward, but there are a couple of subtle variations on this theme. Yes, a bird can descend from the sky, but also, humans are descended from prehistoric ancestors. If you've ever heard a pilot say "prepare for our descent", then you know that only one letter separates the noun descent from the verb descend. They both derive from the same Latin components de, meaning "down," and scandere, "to climb." Similarly, if someone condescends to you, they are said, derogatorily, to be coming down to your level. All Americans are descended from peoples from other continents, such as Europe, Africa, and Asia. We've all "come down" from our ancestors.
Vocabulary lists containing descend
"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary
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Word Generation Social Studies - Ancient Civilizations of Egypt, Greece, Rome
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How Low Can You Go? Synonyms for "Downward"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He continued to descend alone for what he estimated to be about 50-100m before he came across another member of their group, a "Polish climber with no oxygen, battling fairly severe frostbite".
From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026
Lhakpa Sherpa, 52, known as the "Mountain Queen", first stood on the top of Everest in 2000, becoming the first Nepali woman to successfully summit and descend the world's highest peak.
From Barron's • May 17, 2026
The findings build on earlier ancient DNA studies published in 2021 that first proposed the idea that modern Japanese people descend from three major ancestral sources instead of two.
From Science Daily • May 14, 2026
Organizers began circulating fliers on social media, urging teens to descend on the mall again the following weekend.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
As we descend, I stare right through her to the opposite side of the ship, where I know my parents are sleeping in their pods.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
