downstream

[doun-streem]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR downstream ON THESAURUS.COM

adverb

with or in the direction of the current of a stream.

adjective

of or relating to the latter part of a process or system.

Genetics. with or in the direction of transcription, translation, or synthesis of a DNA, RNA, or protein molecule.

Origin of downstream

First recorded in 1700–10; down¹ + stream

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for downstream

next, ensuing, following, posterior, proximate, subsequent, ulterior, downstream, succeeding

Examples from the Web for downstream

Contemporary Examples of downstream

You wanted to be upstream with the artists, not downstream with the consumers.
Apple Wants Beats So It Can Control You
Ted Gioia
May 12, 2014
New Yorkers use 1.3 billion gallons of water each day, sending it downstream across 7,400 miles of sewer pipes.
The Scariest Thing About Sandy: Guarding the Water Supply
Kent Sepkowitz
October 30, 2012
We all exist in the hydrosphere, all downstream from one another.
Why Is Jacques Cousteau's Granddaughter Driving John McCain's Bus?
Lloyd Grove
April 22, 2010

Historical Examples of downstream

Midway in the passage, the current picked up the cub and swept him downstream.
White Fang
Jack London
In a few more minutes he could turn back and be sure Sim was downstream.
A Yankee Flier Over Berlin
Al Avery
What was he going to do if none of the others joined him downstream?
Storm Over Warlock
Andre Norton
The roan, with Laramie's hand on his bridle, swept on downstream.
Laramie Holds the Range
Frank H. Spearman
“There; now you shall try and throw one downstream,” said Kenneth.
Three Boys
George Manville Fenn

British Dictionary definitions for downstream

downstream

adverb, adjective

in or towards the lower part of a stream; with the current

(in the oil industry) of or for the refining, distribution, or marketing of oil or its derived productsCompare upstream (def. 2)

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 downstream

adv., adj.

1706, from down (prep.) + stream (n.).