Synonyms

descend

American

[dih-send] / dɪˈsɛnd /

verb (used without object)

to go or pass from a higher to a lower place; move or come down.

to descend from the mountaintop.
to pass from higher to lower in any scale or series.
to go from generals to particulars, as in a discussion.
to slope, tend, or lead downward.

The path descends to the pond.
to be inherited or transmitted, as through succeeding generations of a family.

The title descends through eldest sons.
to have a specific person or family among one's ancestors (usually followed byfrom ).

He is descended from Cromwell.
to be derived from something remote in time, especially through continuous transmission.

This festival descends from a druidic rite.
to approach or pounce upon, especially in a greedy or hasty manner (followed by on orupon ).

Thrill-seekers descended upon the scene of the crime.
to settle, as a cloud or vapor.
to appear or become manifest, as a supernatural being, state of mind, etc..

Jupiter descended to humankind.
to attack, especially with violence and suddenness (usually followed by on orupon ).

to descend upon enemy soldiers.
to sink or come down from a certain intellectual, moral, or social standard.

He would never descend to baseness.
Astronomy. to move toward the horizon, as the sun or a star.

verb (used with object)

to move downward upon or along; go or climb down (stairs, a hill, etc.).
to extend or lead down along.

The path descends the hill.

descend British

/ dɪˈsɛnd /

verb

(also tr) to move, pass, or go down (a hill, slope, staircase, etc)
(of a hill, slope, or path) to lead or extend down; slope; incline
to move to a lower level, pitch, etc; fall
(often foll by from) to be connected by a blood relationship (to a dead or extinct individual, race, species, etc)
to be passed on by parents or ancestors; be inherited
to sink or come down in morals or behaviour; lower oneself
to arrive or attack in a sudden or overwhelming way

their relatives descended upon them last week
(of the sun, moon, etc) to move towards the horizon

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

descendable adjective
descendingly adverb
predescend verb
redescend verb
undescending adjective

Etymology

Origin of descend

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English descenden, from Old French descendre, from Latin dēscendere, equivalent to dē- de- + -scendere, combining form of scandere “to climb”; scansion

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.

Such questions become moot once two men from the other vehicle descend to track them.

From The Wall Street Journal

Their wisdom was confirmed by what followed soon after in France, where calls for democracy, seemingly similar to America’s own rhetoric, quickly descended into something profoundly different.

From The Wall Street Journal

Thousands of delegates are due to descend on the capital Beijing next week for the Two Sessions.

From BBC

Research indicates both groups descended from a population living in Africa some million years ago.

From Barron's

Led by brother David Fox, a troop of men carrying shovels and pickaxes descended the stairs to dig up the peddler’s body.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023