download

[doun-lohd]Computers.

verb (used with object)

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.

noun

software, data, etc., that has been downloaded: the best free music downloads.
the act or process of downloading.

Origin of download

down¹ + load

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for downloading

load, compute, program, run, digitize, computerize, initialize, input, keyboard

Examples from the Web for downloading

Contemporary Examples of downloading

Going to The Ball, signing up for JDate, downloading JSwipe are all modern-day rites of passage.
The Craziest Date Night for Single Jews, Where Mistletoe Is Ditched for Shots
Emily Shire
December 26, 2014
My Beats experience has been just as frustrating as my previous forays into streaming and downloading.
25 Things I Want from an Online Music Service (and Almost Never Get)
Ted Gioia
June 30, 2014
If you proceed, it will only be a few hours until some hacker in Tehran is downloading your electronic correspondence.
Iran Is Using a Neocon to Hack Its Foes
Eli Lake
May 30, 2014
Getting started can be as simple as downloading one or more tracking apps to increase awareness about your health.
Hack Your Health: 6 Biohacks That Might Surprise You
DailyBurn
December 4, 2013
They discovered this by tracking the IP addresses that were downloading illegal content.
This Is Why SOPA Failed
Ilana Glazer
January 18, 2013

Historical Examples of downloading

They were easiest to solve with the whole team, downloading tons of dojinshi files and scouring them for answers to the puzzles.
Little Brother
Cory Doctorow

British Dictionary definitions for downloading

download

verb (tr)

to copy or transfer (data or a program) into the memory of one computer system from a larger one
to broadcast specialist programmes, for such groups as doctors, outside normal broadcasting hours. They are often recorded on video tapes and viewed laterCompare upload
esp Canadian to delegate or assign (work, responsibilities, costs, etc) to a someone at a lower level of an organization; off-load

noun

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

Derived Formsdownloadable, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for downloading

download

1977 (n.), 1980 (v.), from down (adv.) + load (v.). Related: Downloaded; downloading.

downloading in Science

download

[doun′lōd′]

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