comedown

American  

[kuhm-doun] / ˈkʌmˌdaʊn /

noun

1. an unexpected or humiliating descent from dignity, importance, or wealth.

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comedown British  

/ ˈkʌmˌdaʊn /

noun

1. a decline in position, status, or prosperity

2. informal a disappointment

3. slang a depressed or unexcited state

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verb

1. to come to a place regarded as lower

2. to lose status, wealth, etc (esp in the phrase to come down in the world )

3. to reach a decision

   the report came down in favour of a pay increase

4. (often foll by to) to be handed down or acquired by tradition or inheritance

5. to leave college or university

6. (foll by with) to succumb (to illness or disease)

7. (foll by on) to rebuke or criticize harshly

8. (foll by to) to amount in essence (to)

   it comes down to two choices

9. slang to lose the effects of a drug and return to a normal or more normal state

10. informal (of a river) to flow in flood

Etymology

Origin of comedown

First recorded in 1555–65; noun use of verb phrase come down

Example Sentences

They declined to tour or promote the release of its successor, Comedown Machine, at all, “because we weren’t in harmony”, he says.

From The Guardian • Mar. 27, 2020

The results, as heard on their last two albums, 2011’s Angles and 2013’s Comedown Machine, lacked the hooks and emotional impact of their first three albums.

From Time • Oct. 26, 2014

By contrast, anyone partial to Casablancas as a born-again keyboard fetishist will find Comedown far more agreeable – bang on trend, even.

From The Guardian • Mar. 24, 2013

Wipe the name of the band from the cover and the fun begins. '80s Comedown Machine is a submersive Mellotronic slowie studded with dub bits.

From The Guardian • Mar. 24, 2013

Last week three more celebrated high flyers were in varying degrees of trouble: Comedown for Cornfeld Bernard Cornfeld, the Midas of mutual funds, recently jetted to Acapulco for a summit conference with Hugh Hefner.

From Time Magazine Archive