download
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
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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
-
has downloadedperfect
-
am downloadingprogressive
-
are downloadingprogressive
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is downloadingprogressive
-
have been downloadingperfect progressive
-
has been downloadingperfect progressive
Past
-
downloadedsimple
-
had downloadedperfect
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was downloadingprogressive
-
were downloadingprogressive
-
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:
Scammers will ask you to provide or verify personal information, account login details or two-factor authentication codes, transfer money to them or download malicious software, it says.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
There will be a box at some stores, yes, but it contains a download code, not a disc.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
“If you’re in one of these four new cities, download the app to be notified when it’s time to ride,” the company said in a blog post.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
"GLM-5.2 is free to download, fine-tune, and run on an enterprise's own servers, putting pricing pressure on frontier labs at the same time that access looks shaky," AI analyst Andrew Curran noted.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
“I’ll download the pic when we get home and then give it back to you at school?”
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
Though the company’s overall game downloads have slowed, its gross revenue has largely increased every year since 2020, according to Appfigures data.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
We evaluated streaming performance and P2P behavior by running downloads and streaming concurrently to observe throttling and buffering.
From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026
"She has her bunk and I have my bunk, she's got her headphone and downloads movies and things."
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
Apps now compete for downloads and screen time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 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
I downloaded an app that mapped out my route and where I should charge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Apple accuses Liu of using a former colleague’s work computer to access Apple’s network, alleging that Liu downloaded “dozens of Apple’s confidential hardware-related files.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Digital tickets must be downloaded and activated before boarding the train to be valid.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
Other simultaneous downloads swept up episodes of “The Big Bang Theory” and “Ted Lasso” out of order, though a putative human user would probably have downloaded them sequentially.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
Most of these items were over forty years old, and so free digital copies of them could be downloaded from the OASIS.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
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
Williams, the mother of two, is merely the latest ultra-successful sports icon to decide that investor meetings, casual golf and downloading episodes of “Bluey” wasn’t how she wanted to spend her 40s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
He spent the night cutting pictures from magazines and downloading images to create a makeshift catalog, then promised Mason a custom $40,000 necklace.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
"One might recall the various attempts of rights holders to sue people — including grandparents and children — for downloading songs 20 or so years ago," he said.
From BBC ● May 23, 2026
Once we're finished debating and downloading, Jane heads home to change.
From "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan
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.
