downward
Americanadverb
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Also downwards. from a higher to a lower place or condition.
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down from a source or beginning.
As the river flows downward, it widens.
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from a past time, predecessor, or ancestor.
The estate was handed downward from generation to generation.
adjective
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moving or tending to a lower place or condition.
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descending from a source or beginning.
adjective
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descending from a higher to a lower level, condition, position, etc
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descending from a beginning
adverb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of downward
1150–1200; Middle English dounward, aphetic variant of adounward, Old English adūnweard. See down 1, -ward
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.
“San Francisco’s economy cannot credibly be described as being in a downward spiral at the moment,” the office wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
The unusually large downward revision was due to a steeper-than-estimated drop in activity in Ireland -- now put at 12.1 percent, far beyond an initial two-percent forecast.
From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026
Then, consequently, you would be making less yield, and you’d cycle downward from there.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 3, 2026
Rather than floating in the ocean, they extend downward into Earth's mantle like the keel of a ship.
From Science Daily • Jun. 3, 2026
They dug a shaft downward and then sideways in the tough clay.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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.
