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Synonyms

descend

American

[dih-send] / dɪˈsɛnd /

verb (used without object)

to go or pass from a higher to a lower place; move or come down.

to descend from the mountaintop.
to pass from higher to lower in any scale or series.
to go from generals to particulars, as in a discussion.
to slope, tend, or lead downward.

The path descends to the pond.
to be inherited or transmitted, as through succeeding generations of a family.

The title descends through eldest sons.
to have a specific person or family among one's ancestors (usually followed byfrom ).

He is descended from Cromwell.
to be derived from something remote in time, especially through continuous transmission.

This festival descends from a druidic rite.
to approach or pounce upon, especially in a greedy or hasty manner (followed by on orupon ).

Thrill-seekers descended upon the scene of the crime.
to settle, as a cloud or vapor.
to appear or become manifest, as a supernatural being, state of mind, etc..

Jupiter descended to humankind.
to attack, especially with violence and suddenness (usually followed by on orupon ).

to descend upon enemy soldiers.
to sink or come down from a certain intellectual, moral, or social standard.

He would never descend to baseness.
Astronomy. to move toward the horizon, as the sun or a star.

verb (used with object)

to move downward upon or along; go or climb down (stairs, a hill, etc.).
to extend or lead down along.

The path descends the hill.

descend British

/ dɪˈsɛnd /

verb

(also tr) to move, pass, or go down (a hill, slope, staircase, etc)
(of a hill, slope, or path) to lead or extend down; slope; incline
to move to a lower level, pitch, etc; fall
(often foll by from) to be connected by a blood relationship (to a dead or extinct individual, race, species, etc)
to be passed on by parents or ancestors; be inherited
to sink or come down in morals or behaviour; lower oneself
to arrive or attack in a sudden or overwhelming way

their relatives descended upon them last week
(of the sun, moon, etc) to move towards the horizon

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of descend

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English descenden, from Old French descendre, from Latin dēscendere, equivalent to dē- de- + -scendere, combining form of scandere “to climb”; cf. scansion

Explanation

In its simplest sense, descend means to go or move downward, but there are a couple of subtle variations on this theme. Yes, a bird can descend from the sky, but also, humans are descended from prehistoric ancestors. If you've ever heard a pilot say "prepare for our descent", then you know that only one letter separates the noun descent from the verb descend. They both derive from the same Latin components de, meaning "down," and scandere, "to climb." Similarly, if someone condescends to you, they are said, derogatorily, to be coming down to your level. All Americans are descended from peoples from other continents, such as Europe, Africa, and Asia. We've all "come down" from our ancestors.

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Vocabulary lists containing descend

"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary

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Word Generation Social Studies - Ancient Civilizations of Egypt, Greece, Rome

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How Low Can You Go? Synonyms for "Downward"

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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:

descend descends descended descending

"The loss of power from all three engines caused the aircraft to descend into the sea," it said.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

“These deer have become beloved to many of the islanders, as well as the thousands of tourists who descend on Catalina Island every year,” she told The Times last month.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

Seen against that history, her arguments no longer seem to descend from the altitude of solitary thought.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

The beaches are packed as visitors descend on the Black Sea from all over Ukraine.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

He stood and watched the flakes descend around him.

From "Breadcrumbs" by Anne Ursu

Jack Tucker descends from the rafters inside L.A.’s Montalbán Theatre like a kamikaze crash landing into his big moment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026

Every living animal ultimately descends from a common ancestor that existed more than 600 million years ago.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026

The painting portrays a moment in an ancient Cretan myth recounted in Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”: Zeus descends to Earth, transforms himself into a white bull and lolls among the herds belonging to the Phoenician king.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

As firefighters in southwest France struggle to bring a forest inferno under control before yet another heatwave descends on the country, Filippi told AFP about the phenomenon.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

Our plane descends through the clouds and my new city sparkles below, dazzling in the morning light.

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins

So the ability to simply buy a jar descended from it feels like an almost comically specific luxury: somebody else has already done the sticky part.

From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026

As those sections of crust descended, they released their water into the mantle.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026

Once in Oia, Davis carefully descended the steps while her companion opted to wait at the top.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

Around 200 people, some wearing masks, confronted police in riot gear after they descended on the Eastney Landing ferry port area, where the migrants were landed.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

And as a small Negro girl and her mother descended the grand staircase and entered the kitchen, the house finally, finally understood the change in the air.

From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland

But it ended the same way, with a pack of USC defenders descending all at once, leaving Fresno State with nowhere to go.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

"After descending through the opening using ropes and calling out to those inside, no response was received," the prime minister's office said in a statement.

From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026

Like the Beatles’ “Eight Days a Week” and Yes’s “Roundabout,” the track begins with a fade-in, featuring Mr. Scholz playing a descending acoustic-guitar arpeggio.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

Some of the biggest Arabic artists in the world are descending on the UK on Saturday - for a "first of its kind" music festival.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

Her black eyes flamed up; she glowered at him as the elevator ceased descending and its doors slid back.

From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023