comedown

American  

[kuhm-daun] / 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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

comedown

It’s been a rapid comedown for a heavyweight that basked in its return to the mountaintop.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Robinson admitted that going back to work at an IT company after Wembley glory was a "massive comedown".

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

But the fund has seen a major comedown since then.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 26, 2026

It was a big comedown for a Knicks team who slipped half a game behind the Boston Celtics into third place in the East, six games behind conference leaders Detroit.

From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026

What a comedown from the great tradition of philosophy from Aristotle to Kant!

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking

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