downrange

American  

[doun-reynj, doun-reynj] / ˈdaʊnˌreɪndʒ, ˈdaʊnˈreɪndʒ /

adjective

Rocketry.

1. being in the designated path from a launch pad to the point on a course generally taken as the target.

   The signal was picked up by a downrange radar station.

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downrange British  

/ ˈdaʊnˈreɪndʒ /

adjective

1. in the direction of the intended flight path of a rocket or missile

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Etymology

Origin of downrange

First recorded in 1950–55; down ¹ + range

Example Sentences

Instead of trudging back to the treb for the seventh shot, a few of us linger downrange, about 30 yards to the side of the wall.

From Slate • Jul. 7, 2025

The first, the “rough braking” phase, began when the spacecraft was 30 kilometers above the moon in its orbit and about 750 km downrange from its landing site.

From Scientific American • Aug. 23, 2023

Coleman said that because she was a mother, she had a fellow soldier who volunteered to go in her place downrange for a deployment.

From Washington Times • Feb. 22, 2021

“He’s trying to do things downrange to limit the number of people who try to come to the border in the first place.”

From Washington Post • Jul. 31, 2019

Quentin disappeared downrange trailing telephone wires and carrying his theodolite.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam