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.
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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
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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:
What this means is that well-versed techies can now download and modify this AI without approval from Meta.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Glimmer is an open weight model, meaning users can download and modify the underlying rules that govern the AI system.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Cable internet providers such as Cox or Xfinity have cheaper plans in many regions, but upload and download speeds are not as fast as with fiber.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
"Claims can be made online, or by post, using a form that you can download from a train company website or get from a staffed station," according to National Rail.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
I download every Weaves song I can find.
From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon
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
We evaluated streaming performance and P2P behavior by running downloads and streaming concurrently to observe throttling and buffering.
From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026
Today, app developers pay for downloads and subscriptions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
This Harlem free Wi-Fi was sooo slow for downloads.
From "The Stars Beneath Our Feet" by David Barclay Moore
OpenAI and Anthropic don’t allow their proprietary AI software to be downloaded and used.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Zuckerberg said in an Instagram video Monday that his company would open the weights for its latest AI model, enabling it to be downloaded by the public.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
Users who have downloaded his app include a strip club owner, a Buddhist monk and parents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Sean Harding downloaded Whatnot, a live-shopping app, after rekindling his childhood baseball-card collecting hobby.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
The thing Wren gives me is called an audiobook player, with books already downloaded on it.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
The airline is going back to one mile per dollar spent at the coffee chain from its current setup where you get miles for downloading money to your Starbucks Rewards card.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 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
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
One is that Meta, the giant social media company, is accused of copyright infringement for allegedly downloading 2,400 of the plaintiff’s movies to train its AI bots.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
In seconds, photos started downloading to my phone.
From "Turtles All the Way Down" by John Green
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.
