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.
-
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
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has been downloadingperfect progressive
Past
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downloadedsimple
-
had downloadedperfect
-
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:
He said a foreign actor could download the list and send an email to residents posing as the city asking for tax money.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Viewers may scan a QR code for their own copy of the audio track, which deteriorates in sound quality with every download.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
The fast-food standards have them, of course, but so do regional chains and neighborhood coffee shops: download this, order ahead, skip the line, collect points, save your usual.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
The issue is related to a debate about open-weight models that allow users to download the numerical parameters that determine their behavior.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
“Fine,” I say, half listening as I skim through the titles of the articles I can download.
From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass
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
It has been downloaded 12 million times in 2026 alone, according to director Jessie Barry - who says it has had 42 million downloads overall.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The FT’s article reports that the Chinese government discussed restricting the transfer of important data abroad and limiting the downloads of models by foreign users.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
In May, the number of downloads was about 59,729.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Elsie not only downloads the app that lets me access the othernet, she even creates a profile for me on Eurgphmthilthmsphlthm, the leading social media site in the supernatural world.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
Liu, who grew up reading National Geographic and watching Animal Planet, said she got into bird-watching after she downloaded Merlin Bird ID, a birding app.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
The 66-year-old scanned a QR code on the advert, using an app he had downloaded.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
OpenAI and Anthropic don’t allow their proprietary AI software to be downloaded and used.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
The company will resume releasing models with open weights, meaning their parameters can be downloaded by anyone, something it paused after reorganizing its AI operations last year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Maybe the stories he downloaded are still in there somewhere too.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
Holographic, or handwritten, wills are legal in about half of the states in the U.S, including Texas, but it’s not worth writing a will on the cheap or downloading one from the internet.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
The National Cyber Security Centre advises people to use the QR scanner that comes with their phone - usually the camera - rather than downloading a separate app.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 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
It also argued that customers were in no way forced to use its products on Android and that downloading competing apps was just a tap away.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 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.
