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.
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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.
-
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
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is downloadingprogressive
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have been downloadingperfect progressive
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has been downloadingperfect progressive
Past
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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:
The fast-food standards have them, of course, but so do regional chains and neighborhood coffee shops: download this, order ahead, skip the line, collect points, save your usual.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
The issue is related to a debate about open-weight models that allow users to download the numerical parameters that determine their behavior.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Information such as old bank statements won't be accessible after the move so people might want to download these before they switch.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
What this means is that well-versed techies can now download and modify this AI without approval from Meta.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
“I’ll download the pic when we get home and then give it back to you at school?”
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
The network says it has 3.2 billion subscribers across YouTube and TikTok in 2026 and has had more than 80 million downloads of its podcasts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
The FT’s article reports that the Chinese government discussed restricting the transfer of important data abroad and limiting the downloads of models by foreign users.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
In May, the number of downloads was about 59,729.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
We evaluated streaming performance and P2P behavior by running downloads and streaming concurrently to observe throttling and buffering.
From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026
Without her Cog, she and Rubio are no longer being fed downloads while they sleep.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
"I told them I'd downloaded it, I tried to stop, but I'd obviously gone too far," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
"I thought 'I don't like the idea of this because I'm going to have to put my card details into an app that I've only just downloaded, which wasn't of my choosing'."
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
OpenAI and Anthropic don’t allow their proprietary AI software to be downloaded and used.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
When he downloaded his full history from his Whatnot account—shared with the Journal—and added up the hundreds of purchases, the grand total was $1,362,687.31.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
I get going, nailing the pieces Owen cut for me over the weekend, and then see from my downloaded plans that I need a level.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
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
The National Cyber Security Centre advises people to use the QR scanner that comes with their phone - usually the camera - rather than downloading a separate app.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
It also argued that customers were in no way forced to use its products on Android and that downloading competing apps was just a tap away.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
Williams, the mother of two, is merely the latest ultra-successful sports icon to decide that investor meetings, casual golf and downloading episodes of “Bluey” wasn’t how she wanted to spend her 40s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
I think instead of downloading the Elliott Smith songs you mentioned, I'll just drop a hint to my dad that I want a couple of his albums for Hotel Hanukkah.
From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli
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.
