downstream

[ doun-streem ]

/ ˈdaʊnˈstrim /

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.

Nearby words

Origin of downstream

First recorded in 1700–10; down¹ + stream

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

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
The racks were so arranged that the fish could get upstream through the bars, but could not get downstream.
Bill Bruce on Forest Patrol|Henry Harley Arnold

A “long trip” downstream would have brought them into the slough country south of Bakersfield.
Colonial Expeditions to the Interior of California Central Valley, 1800-1820|Sherburne Friend Cook
But even on a massive scale of installation they have little influence on downstream flooding along the main rivers.
The Nation's River|United States Department of the Interior
The visitors approached their horses and were about to mount, when a peon on foot was seen approaching from downstream.
The Broncho Rider Boys with the Texas Rangers|Frank Fowler
Chuck strode off downstream and Slim gathered up an armful of wood for the fire.
Slim Evans and his Horse Lightning|Graham M. Dean

British Dictionary definitions for downstream

downstream

/ (ˈdaʊnˈstriːm) /

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