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
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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:
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
When we were on a group vacation, she got everyone to download the Splitwise app.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
Physical copies of the game will contain a code for a digital download for the game inside a box, rather than a disc.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Riders can download the app and travel across L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
While eating, I download an audiobook on meditation for beginners.
From "We Are Okay" by Nina LaCour
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
The Muse artificial-intelligence agent has reached 10 million downloads in a little over a month since it was launched.
From The Wall Street Journal ● 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
As Wang’s posts gained traction and Muse racked up downloads, the app also drew attention for alleged privacy and security concerns—a longtime Achilles’ heel for the company.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Elsie not only downloads the app that lets me access the othernet, she even creates a profile for me on Eurgphmthilthmsphlthm, the leading social media site in the supernatural world.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
He downloaded tide apps, readied himself with sandbags and felt prepared for this week’s return.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
Muse, which Meta launched in September and has made available only in the United States and Canada, has been downloaded more than 10 million times, according to an analysis of third-party data by Sensor Tower.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
While DeepSeek's free chatbot app is one of the most downloaded apps in the Apple App Store rankings, its AI models are also used by US tech companies.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
But I hadn’t downloaded the Tesla app to access the magic adapter the Kia needed to charge there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
I try to read my downloaded version of The Waves, and when that isn’t any better, I think, It's the computer.
From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven
Word of warning: It’s not worth writing a will on the cheap or downloading one from the Internet.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
Criminals are using the pressure and excitement of job interviews to lure people into downloading booby-trapped mobile applications like a fake Indeed Interview app or one called MyInterview.
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
The airline is going back to one mile per dollar spent at the coffee chain from its current setup where you get miles for downloading money to your Starbucks Rewards card.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Why spend all that time downloading a movie playing all over Chicago?
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
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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.
