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
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was downloadingprogressive
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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:
Now, someone with a powerful computer and an open-weight AI model—a publicly released AI model that is free to download and run—can execute large-scale scams.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
"Any message asking a job seeker to download an app to participate in an interview is not legitimate."
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
The telescope will be generating about 1.3 terabytes of data a day, "which means you basically can't download the data to anybody's laptop," he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
“But I think in this case, unless they release the playable build for other people to download, I don’t think that it’s going to have a noticeable impact on their sales.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
I also download a virtual face to disguise myself.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
The regulator said that while the company had followed all the correct procedures it had now "obtained the flight data recording downloads as well as other additional requirements" for further analysis.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 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
Released in February, the app has roughly 110,000 downloads on Android, with most of the users in the United States and Canada, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 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
“This thingy counts every step, and then at midnight it downloads so we can check each other’s numbers. First one who goes over or under ten thousand loses.”
From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead
The 50-person figure would be more appropriate for those who received a particular document, and the universe of people who actually opened or downloaded it would be even smaller — perhaps 10 or fewer.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
Sophia, a 35-year-old mum of three in Portsmouth, pays for school trips and makes lunch orders on her children's school's app on her phone, but says her husband has never downloaded it.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
Young people across the country downloaded Snapchat as a way to send each other pictures that quickly disappeared.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
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
If this loop was downloaded to my Cog, and it’s still in my mind, but I still remember who I am...maybe whatever Ben was trying to do worked.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
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
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
Eligible participants can add a driver’s license by downloading the DMV Wallet app or through Apple, Google and Samsung wallet apps and following the prompts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
It was acknowledged that Google's version of Android does not prevent device owners downloading alternative web browsers or using other search engines.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
Apart from movies, weekends were constructed around some new Net or Web project—trying out a just-purchased game, downloading new software, collecting and listening to music, installing a new operating system.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
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.
