come down
Idioms-
Lose wealth or position, as in After the market crashed, the Tates really came down in the world . A 1382 translation of the Bible by followers of John Wycliffe had this term: “Come down from glory, sit in thirst” (Jeremiah 48:18).
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Become reduced in size or amount, be lowered, as in Interest rates will have to come down before the economy recovers . [Mid-1600s]
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Be handed down by inheritance, tradition, or a higher authority. For example, This painting has come down to us from our great-grandparents , or These stories have come down through the generations , or An indictment finally came down . [c. 1400]
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Also, go down . Happen, occur, as in What's coming down tonight? [ Slang ; 1960s]
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.
Asked whether higher rates were the remedy for inflation that won’t come down, he said they “could well be part of that solution” but wouldn’t say they were the main one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Investors remain on edge, even after recent data suggested inflation was easing, the jobs market was softening and oil prices have come down.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
The U.S. cattle herd will eventually build back up, and there will be more supply of beef and prices will come down, said Johnston, the Nebraska rancher.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
After more than a decade of posturing and power struggles - a soap opera of warring promoters, shifting managers, fractured television deals and failed negotiations - it has finally come down to this.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
“Oh, Grandpa,” I said, “don’t do that. Don’t ever throw anything at those monkeys. They’ll come down from the tree and jump on us, and eat us up.”
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
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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.