adjective
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covered with soft fine hair or feathers
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light, soft, and fluffy
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made from or filled with down
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resembling downs; undulating
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slang sharp-witted; knowing
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of downy
Explanation
Things that are downy are very soft and fluffy. Babies are sometimes born with little tufts of downy hair on their heads. A teenage boy who wants to grow a beard will be frustrated by the downy hairs on his chin, and you could also describe the feeling of a peach as downy. When you rip your winter coat, the downy feathers inside might start floating out behind you in a trail wherever you go. These are also known as down, or the soft feathers that typically grow on a young bird — this is the origin, in fact, of downy.
Vocabulary lists containing downy
A Boy Called Bat
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Selection Vocabulary 1, Unit 2
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On the Wings of la Noche
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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:
It has been trying to restore the woodlands by introducing downy birch, sessile oak, hazel, willow, aspen and alder as well as endangered tree species such as Arran whitebeam.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2025
"Our hypothesis is that these bladder cells also protect against other plant diseases like downy mildew, a fungal disease which severely limits quinoa yields," says Max Moog.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 22, 2023
The Italian government last month allocated a modest one million euros to help grape producers hurt by downy mildew.
From Reuters ● Sep. 15, 2023
Unlike their parents, whose sleek black-and-white feathers seal their skin against the frigid ocean, chicks’ downy plumage isn’t waterproof.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2023
“I wish that were true,” said Sam, stroking the downy head.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
You always must have been a precious sight downier than I thought.
From Jack Harkaway's Boy Tinker Among The Turks Book Number Fifteen in the Jack Harkaway Series by Bracebridge Hemyng
Hibermate The interior of this handcrafted sleep mask feels like it's stitched out of the downiest fleece, while the satin exterior slips easily against surfaces so the Hibermate stays put if you toss and turn.
From Time Magazine Archive
The downiest, dearest ones that ever grew, I think this trouble will climax cap!
From Memories and Anecdotes by Kate Sanborn
Mayhap he said to himself, 'Beecher's the downiest cove going.
From Davenport Dunn, Volume 2 (of 2) A Man Of Our Day by Charles James Lever
One felt one had really got all one wanted, and I would not have exchanged that fire for the best of meals or the downiest of beds.
From By Desert Ways to Baghdad by Louisa Jebb
The softest lawn, the downiest, most delicate woollens, were hardly good enough to wrap her treasure.
From The Lovels of Arden by M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
