download
Americanverb (used with object)
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downloads,
present (3rd person singular)
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downloaded,
past participle, past
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downloading
present participle
noun
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downloads
plural
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software, data, etc., that has been downloaded.
the best free music downloads.
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the act or process of downloading.
verb
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to copy or transfer (data or a program) into the memory of one computer system from a larger one
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to broadcast specialist programmes, for such groups as doctors, outside normal broadcasting hours. They are often recorded on video tapes and viewed later Compare upload
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to delegate or assign (work, responsibilities, costs, etc) to a someone at a lower level of an organization; off-load
noun
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To transfer data or programs from a server or host computer to one's own computer or digital device.
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Compare upload
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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downloadsimple
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downloadssimple
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have downloadedperfect
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has downloadedperfect
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am downloadingprogressive
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are downloadingprogressive
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is downloadingprogressive
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have been downloadingperfect progressive
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has been downloadingperfect progressive
Past
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downloadedsimple
-
had downloadedperfect
-
was downloadingprogressive
-
were downloadingprogressive
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had been downloadingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of download
Explanation
When you've got files on one computer that you need to transfer onto another, you'll need to download or copy the data onto a portable drive to move it. Back before the internet brought the world to our fingers, the word download was used mainly to describe the process of copying files or data from one computer to another. But these days, you can download or copy, just about anything from the internet — from music to movies to books. Another thing you can download, if you aren't careful, is a virus, so be wary before you go transferring all kinds of files to your computer.
Vocabulary lists containing download
Computer Science and Technology - Introductory
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Computer Science and Technology - Middle School
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Computer Science and Technology - High School
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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.
See Examples For:
Unlike proprietary models developed by companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic, open-weight models are public, enabling users to download, customize and run them on their own or third-party hardware.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
It also unveiled a tool that allows users to download maps featuring their own custom names for the lake.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
The telescope will be generating about 1.3 terabytes of data a day, "which means you basically can't download the data to anybody's laptop," he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
The fast-food standards have them, of course, but so do regional chains and neighborhood coffee shops: download this, order ahead, skip the line, collect points, save your usual.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
Who does she plan to download these Cogs to?
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
Digital downloads accounted for nearly 82 percent of game sales on the PS4 and PS5 at the start of 2026, Sony said in late July.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
Released in February, the app has roughly 110,000 downloads on Android, with most of the users in the United States and Canada, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Market intelligence firm Sensor Tower said other Bird ID apps have also been used more - such as Birda, which it says has had 31% more downloads this year.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The FT’s article reports that the Chinese government discussed restricting the transfer of important data abroad and limiting the downloads of models by foreign users.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
“I have a present for you, Petra. I couldn’t get your curriculum approved, but since you’re technically old enough for more downloads, and these are off the record...”
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
Sophia, a 35-year-old mum of three in Portsmouth, pays for school trips and makes lunch orders on her children's school's app on her phone, but says her husband has never downloaded it.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
MapQuest — a navigation app that describes itself as the “OG of online mapping” — shot up to the top of Apple’s charts for free apps as more people downloaded it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
The company touts open models, which can be downloaded and modified, as opposed to closed models like those of rivals OpenAI or Anthropic.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
Currently, digital games can be downloaded online and played across Xbox consoles or PCs.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
She opened the photo she had downloaded from the Internet while at the school.
From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson
Hundreds of thousands responded by downloading the app; by Monday, MapQuest had climbed to No. 1 among navigation apps in Apple’s U.S.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
And I was downloading podcasts in 15-minute increments to my iPod Nano.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
Holographic, or handwritten, wills are legal in about half of the states in the U.S, including Texas, but it’s not worth writing a will on the cheap or downloading one from the internet.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
It was acknowledged that Google's version of Android does not prevent device owners downloading alternative web browsers or using other search engines.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
At the same time, I tap my fingers subtly against my leg and start downloading info on both him and Max.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
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.
