be down
Idioms-
Be depressed, in low spirits, as in During the winter months Sue's always down, but spring cheers her up . [ Colloquial ; mid-1800s]
-
Be knowledgeable, canny, or sophisticated, as in He was really down with the new group . This usage probably originated among jazz musicians. [ Slang ; mid-1940s]
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.
The company expects revenue to be down 2% to flat in the current quarter, however, with the midpoint of its outlook coming in shy of analysts’ expectations.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026
It will now be down to the parliamentary standards commissioner and the Electoral Commission to decide.
From BBC • May 5, 2026
“To give you some perspective, in this kind of scenario, you would expect stock markets to be down 35%, it’s pretty severe,” she said.
From Barron's • May 5, 2026
Bitcoin may be down year to date, but it has held up well since the onset of the Iran conflict.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 22, 2026
But then again, if I were Joselito or Julius, I wouldn't be down here in the first place.
From "Hello, Universe" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
