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.
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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
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is downloadingprogressive
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have been downloadingperfect progressive
-
has been downloadingperfect progressive
Past
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downloadedsimple
-
had downloadedperfect
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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:
Customers can either download the model to their own servers, or access it via Mistral's infrastructure, including in "our European sovereign region where data stays under EU jurisdiction to ensure data remains under their control".
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
Now, you download an app, open a chat window and start directing your agent to run digital errands, day or night, right on your phone or laptop.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
If I want to watch them in the right order, I have to download an app called Stardust TV.
From Slate ● Sep. 26, 2026
For more tips, download the Red Cross’ free mobile emergency app.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Every time I turned my e-mail program on, I faced hundreds of messages from kids, students, former students, parents, and teachers stacked in vast queues; it took hours just to download the mail.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
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
Muse has amassed more than 2.5 million U.S. downloads since launching Sept. 8, according to data from Sensor Tower.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
Muse’s cumulative U.S. downloads have outpaced other AI apps over a comparable post-launch period, Post added.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
Digital downloads accounted for nearly 82 percent of game sales on the PS4 and PS5 at the start of 2026, Sony said in late July.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
I look around his room as my app downloads onto his phone, seeing the note I slipped under his door this morning sitting on top of his bed.
From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott
I downloaded the app and began testing twice daily as recommended.
From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026
But the decision "cannot remove copies already downloaded or prevent people from continuing to use them", said Poe Zhao, founder of the analysis publication Hello China Tech.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Their weights, or the numeral parameters that the model learns throughout the training process, can be downloaded directly and run locally.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Hugging Face is a leading platform for accessing open-weight AI, meaning the underlying numerical parameters can be downloaded and tweaked by users.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
Advertising slogans for sugary cereal, microwavable convenience foods, and supersized everything were downloaded directly into the minds of children watching cartoons.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Word of warning: It’s not worth writing a will on the cheap or downloading one from the Internet.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 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
Another resident spoke of downloading a smartphone app to track decibel levels throughout the day, intending to document the noise of the coaster screams and report any violations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Trained entirely on a given pastor’s sermons and teaching, PastorGPT refreshes itself automatically each week by downloading and transcribing new sermon uploads from YouTube.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Even as I continue downloading information, I find myself distracted as the spotlights sweep over each team, hardly able to believe that I’m in the same space as them.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
Definitions 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.
