download

American  

[doun-lohd] / ˈdaʊnˌloʊd /

verb (used with object)

• downloads,
  present (3rd person singular)
• downloaded,
  past participle,  past
• downloading
  present participle

1. to transfer (software, data, character sets, etc.) from a distant to a nearby computer, from a larger to a smaller computer, or from a computer to a peripheral device.

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noun

• downloads
  plural

1. software, data, etc., that has been downloaded.

   the best free music downloads.

2. the act or process of downloading.

download British  

/ ˈdaʊnˌləʊd /

verb

1. to copy or transfer (data or a program) into the memory of one computer system from a larger one

2. 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

3. to delegate or assign (work, responsibilities, costs, etc) to a someone at a lower level of an organization; off-load

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noun

1. a file transferred onto a computer from another computer or the internet

download Scientific  

/ doun′lōd′ /

1. To transfer data or programs from a server or host computer to one's own computer or digital device.

2. Compare upload

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• downloadable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• downloads
  plural

Participles

• downloading
  present
• downloaded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• download
  simple
• downloads
  simple
• have downloaded
  perfect
• has downloaded
  perfect
• am downloading
  progressive
• are downloading
  progressive
• is downloading
  progressive
• have been downloading
  perfect progressive
• has been downloading
  perfect progressive

Past

• downloaded
  simple
• had downloaded
  perfect
• was downloading
  progressive
• were downloading
  progressive
• had been downloading
  perfect progressive

Future

• will download
  simple
• will have downloaded
  perfect
• will be downloading
  progressive
• will have been downloading
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of download

down ¹ + load

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

download downloads downloaded downloading

Distilling open-weight models, which are generally free to download and modify, is also widely accepted.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 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 companies said users will have to be paid subscribers to download songs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

It also unveiled a tool that allows users to download maps featuring their own custom names for the lake.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

I download the Last Friend app on my phone.

From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera

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

On her lunch break, Irene downloads the Nirvana album for herself.

From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon

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

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 company touts open models, which can be downloaded and modified, as opposed to closed models like those of rivals OpenAI or Anthropic.

From Barron's ● 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

She downloaded her pictures from the Nashville trip to her new computer and sorted through them.

From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner

Criminals are using the pressure and excitement of job interviews to lure people into downloading booby-trapped mobile applications like a fake Indeed Interview app or one called MyInterview.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 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

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

What if he’s staring at me through his own hack, downloading all of my info?

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu

Related Words

• load
• log in