downgrade

[doun-greyd]

noun

1. a downward slope, especially of a road.

adjective

1. downhill.

verb (used with object)

downgraded, downgrading 

1. to assign to a lower status with a smaller salary.

2. to minimize the importance of; denigrate.

   She tried to downgrade the findings of the investigation.

3. to assign a lower security classification to (information, a document, etc.).

downgrade

/ ˈdaʊnˌɡreɪd /

verb

1. to reduce in importance, esteem, or value, esp to demote (a person) to a poorer job

2. to speak of disparagingly

noun

1. a downward slope, esp in a road

2. waning in importance, popularity, health, etc

Other Word Forms

• downgrader noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of downgrade¹

An Americanism dating back to 1855–60; down ¹ + grade

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. on the downgrade, in a decline toward an inferior state or position.

   His career has been on the downgrade.

Example Sentences

Salesforce stock was dropping Tuesday after a Northland Securities analyst downgraded his rating on the software company ahead of its annual Dreamforce conference.

Read more on Barron's

In the IMF's forecast for economic growth, it predicts the UK will push Canada out of second place, after its trade-war-affected economy was hit by the biggest downgrades for 2025 and 2026.

Read more on BBC

Growth prospects in Europe, the U.K. and Canada have either held mostly steady or been downgraded in recent months, the IMF said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

BofA Securities also downgraded Texas Instruments to Underperform from Neutral due to global tariff turmoil and limited AI exposure.

Read more on Barron's

Earlier this month, TD Cowen downgraded Marvell stock, citing a lack of certainty around custom processor sales to partners like Amazon.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• degrade 
• demote 
• devalue 
• reduce 
• undervalue