be down

Idioms  

1. Be depressed, in low spirits, as in During the winter months Sue's always down, but spring cheers her up . [ Colloquial ; mid-1800s]

2. 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

Comparable sales, which account for store openings and closings, are projected to be down 2% to 4% in North America, offset by an estimated 2%-to-4% gain across international markets.

From The Wall Street Journal

The National Retail Federation recently forecast that nationwide import volumes for the first half of this year will be down about 2% compared with last year.

From The Wall Street Journal

Gasoline stocks were expected to be down by 500,000 barrels.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Mama,” I said, “I wouldn’t be down in the bottoms very long—not over a couple of hours. I just want to see how those monkeys made out in the storm.”

From Literature

But weeks later the Scottish government's Minister for Public Finance, Ivan McKee, decided to recall the plans because of the overall impact on Loch Lomond - meaning the final decision would be down to ministers.

From BBC