downstream
Americanadverb
adjective
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of or relating to the latter part of a process or system.
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Genetics. with or in the direction of transcription, translation, or synthesis of a DNA, RNA, or protein molecule.
adverb
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in or towards the lower part of a stream; with the current
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(in the oil industry) of or for the refining, distribution, or marketing of oil or its derived products Compare upstream
Etymology
Origin of downstream
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.
Digital technology isn’t merely accelerating some inevitable tide but is a force unto itself—one that makes solitary leisure more appealing, corrodes the incentives for sociality and, as a downstream consequence, reduces marriage and fertility.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
Containment booms installed by Thames Water caught some of the discharge, preventing some of the substance from spreading further downstream, but the water remains contaminated.
From BBC • May 26, 2026
Each year, the Bureau of Reclamation is required to release a plan detailing how it will keep water downstream of Shasta Dam cold enough to protect salmon.
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
"That allows us to link many different genetic perturbations to their downstream effects and identify regulatory nodes."
From Science Daily • May 21, 2026
Burden Creek has none at all, and after they merge, downstream all the way to the gap and out, the water is clear and dead.
From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien
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.
