download
Americanverb (used with object)
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downloads,
present (3rd person singular)
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downloaded,
past participle, past
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downloading
present participle
noun
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downloads
plural
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software, data, etc., that has been downloaded.
the best free music downloads.
-
the act or process of downloading.
verb
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to copy or transfer (data or a program) into the memory of one computer system from a larger one
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to broadcast specialist programmes, for such groups as doctors, outside normal broadcasting hours. They are often recorded on video tapes and viewed later Compare upload
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to delegate or assign (work, responsibilities, costs, etc) to a someone at a lower level of an organization; off-load
noun
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To transfer data or programs from a server or host computer to one's own computer or digital device.
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Compare upload
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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downloadsimple
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downloadssimple
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have downloadedperfect
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has downloadedperfect
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am downloadingprogressive
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are downloadingprogressive
-
is downloadingprogressive
-
have been downloadingperfect progressive
-
has been downloadingperfect progressive
Past
-
downloadedsimple
-
had downloadedperfect
-
was downloadingprogressive
-
were downloadingprogressive
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had been downloadingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of download
Explanation
When you've got files on one computer that you need to transfer onto another, you'll need to download or copy the data onto a portable drive to move it. Back before the internet brought the world to our fingers, the word download was used mainly to describe the process of copying files or data from one computer to another. But these days, you can download or copy, just about anything from the internet — from music to movies to books. Another thing you can download, if you aren't careful, is a virus, so be wary before you go transferring all kinds of files to your computer.
Vocabulary lists containing download
Computer Science and Technology - Introductory
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Computer Science and Technology - Middle School
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Computer Science and Technology - High School
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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.
See Examples For:
Further information, including a recent download from Lucy's mobile phone, contained information which "we believe are relevant to the circumstances leading up to her death."
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
So-called open AI models, which anyone can download and modify, are close behind closed models such as Claude or ChatGPT, which are available only through their owners' paid services.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
I helped Cheetham download the EV road-trip planning app ABRP.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
From airfares to computer game download prices, there are the first signs of stickier forms of price pressure and of higher inflation becoming more embedded, suggesting elevated price rises are not temporary.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
If you need some staff paper, you can download this PDF file22 .
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
The app had 46 million downloads and more than 6.7 million daily active users in March 2026, the app’s team said on its fourth anniversary.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
Meta has taken pole position there with its Muse agent, which has amassed over 10 million downloads since it launched in September.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
These giant, warehouse-like buildings power virtually all our internet activity, from our web searches and emails to movie downloads and online banking.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
Younger audiophiles revived the medium from the dead starting in 2008 for many reasons, the simplest being that digital downloads don’t include eye-popping cover art.
From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2026
This Harlem free Wi-Fi was sooo slow for downloads.
From "The Stars Beneath Our Feet" by David Barclay Moore
It has been downloaded more than 46 million times and has more than 6.7 million daily users, according to developers, Ajax Systems.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
More than 10 million people in the U.S. and Canada have downloaded the Muse app, Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on the company’s earnings call Wednesday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
Bumble is one of the world's most downloaded dating apps, operating in a crowded market where growth has slowed.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Hayward resident Jason Hughes, 73, downloaded ChatGPT and Claude for the first time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
“Because my dad already downloaded the animation software,” I tell her.
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
Jobseekers are being warned to be vigilant as scammers are targeting people on job listings websites to trick them into downloading bogus interview tools.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
Hundreds of thousands responded by downloading the app; by Monday, MapQuest had climbed to No. 1 among navigation apps in Apple’s U.S.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
And I was downloading podcasts in 15-minute increments to my iPod Nano.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
Holographic, or handwritten, wills are legal in about half of the states in the U.S, including Texas, but it’s not worth writing a will on the cheap or downloading one from the internet.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
I fly through the reams of data for each of them, downloading and storing, organizing them into folders.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
