downwind
Americanadverb
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in the direction toward which the wind is blowing.
We coasted downwind.
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on or toward the lee side.
The lion was running downwind of us and caught our scent.
adjective
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moving downwind.
a downwind current.
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situated on or toward the lee side.
The downwind halyard blew outboard.
adverb
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in the same direction towards which the wind is blowing; with the wind from behind
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towards or on the side away from the wind; leeward
Etymology
Origin of downwind
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.
An October 1992 Texaco refinery explosion in Wilmington blew out windows, shook houses like an earthquake and puffed out potentially toxic vapor that went downwind.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
On the island's downwind side, the satellite captured von Kármán vortex streets, which look like repeating swirls spinning in opposite directions.
From Science Daily ● May 6, 2026
Some critics say cloud seeding can rob downwind areas of rain, but Doricko and others say this doesn’t happen because the practice taps water that would otherwise remain in clouds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
Lake effect snow downwind of Lakes Superior, Erie, and Ontario could reduce visibility on roadways on Thanksgiving, with more than a foot of snow expected in some areas by Friday.
From Barron's ● Nov. 25, 2025
All this was happening, you will note, just downwind of a volcano that had been rumbling menacingly for two months.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
