We have lessons on phrasal verbs. in this Post we'll continue by looking at some interesting phrasal verbs ending with "down".
Phrasal verbs with down
Look at the context of each sentence and choose what you are looking for. Good luck!
1. Argue down:
A: To haggle with (a person) to reach a lower price.
- I argued him down to twenty dollars.
B: To win an argument, verbal conflict or debate.
- His wife argued him down from his trip to Vegas.
2. Back down: To take back a demand, an opinion, etc. that other people are strongly opposed to; to admit defeat.
- She refused to back down on a point of principle.
3. Batten down: To fix something securely in position with strips of wood.
- He was busy battening down all the shutters and doors.
4. Bear down: To put more effort into doing something.
- We're giving up too many points - we have to bear down.
5. Bear down on: To move in a threatening way towards someone or something.
- I looked up to see the car bearing down on me.
6. Beat down
A: Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see beat, down.
- The transmission tower was beaten down by the storm.
B: To forcefully diminish the power or influence of; to quell; to squash.
- The government tried to beat down the opposition movement.
C: To shine brightly and radiate with intense heat.
- We had to leave the beach because the sun was really beating down.
D: To strike with great force.
- It was a ghastly morning, with the rain beating down in sheets.
E: To wear (someone) out by repeated actions that overwhelm one's patience or strength.
- She continued to badger until his friend did what he said. Eventually, she beat him down and he gave in.
F: To haggle with (someone) to sell at a lower price. informal
- I managed to beat him down to half his original asking price.
7. Bed down: To sleep in a place where you do not usually sleep.
- You have my room and I'll bed down in the living room.
8. Blow down: To knock over with an air current, most often wind.
- I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down.
9. Bog down:
A: To make something sink into mud or wet ground.
- The tank became bogged down in mud.
B: To prevent somebody from making progress in an activity.
- We mustn't get bogged down in details.
10. Boil down
A: To reduce in volume by boiling.
- He boiled the soup down so it wouldn't be so weak.
B: To become reduced (to the most central elements or ingredients: to the essence, core or implication for action).
- So what this boils down to is that you still owe me that fifty bucks.
C: To reduce (to the most central elements or ingredients: to the essence, core or implication for action).
- My dissertation is 342 pages long, and I'm required to boil it down to a one-page abstract?!
11. Bow down to: To show respect to someone and agree that they are more powerful than you.
- He expects me to bow down to him and do everything he tells me.
12. Break down
A: To stop functioning. (machine, computer, vehicle)
- I am afraid my computer will break down if I try to run it at too high a speed.
B: To fail, especially socially or for political reasons.
- Talks broke down between Prime Minister John Doe and the opposition party.
C: To give in, relent, concede, or surrender.
- Is it worth taking it to a repair shop, or should I just break down and buy a new one?
D: To render or to become unstable due to stress, to collapse physically or mentally.
- She is back to work now, after she broke down the other day.
E: To render or to become weak and ineffective.
- His authority and influence over his coordinates broke down gradually.
F: To (cause to) decay, to decompose.
- Leaves and grass will break down into compost faster if you keep them moist.
G: To divide into parts to give more details, to provide a more indepth analysis of.
- If you don't understand, ask him to break down the numbers for you.
H: To digest.
- His stomach took a while to break down his food.
13. Bring down:
A: To make a ruler lose their position of power.
- The rebel forces are trying to bring down the president and his government.
B: To reduce.
- The latest budget reforms are intended to bring down the level of inflation.
C: To make something, especially something flying, fall to the ground, usually by firing a weapon of some kind.
- He brought down a pheasant with his first shot of the day.
D: To make someone feel bad emotionally.
- The news of his death brought her down.
14. Brush down: To straighten up one's clothes and to tidy up one's appearance.
- After tripping over, he picked himself up, brushed himself down, and carried on walking.
15. Bucket down: To rain heavily.
- It's absolutely bucketing down.
16. Buckle down: To put forth the needed effort; to focus; become serious; apply oneself (e.g. to work or study).
- If he would buckle down and do his homework, he could be an excellent student.
17. Burn down
A: To cause (a structure) to burn to nothing.
- The police are hoping to find the people who burned down the cottage.
B: To burn completely, so that nothing remains.
- A fire which started in the bedroom caused the cottage to burn down.
18. Call down: To pray for; to request from God.
- I shall call down God's wrath upon you!
19. Calm down: To become less excited, intense, or angry.
- Calm down before you hurt somebody.
20. Change down: To start using a lower gear when you are driving a car, etc.
- To change down from fourth (gear) into third.
21. Chop down: To make something, such as a tree, fall by cutting it at the base with a sharp tool.
- There are concerns over how quickly the forests are being chopped down.
22. Chow down: To eat, especially to eat vigorously.
- We're all famished; it's time to chow down.
23. Clamp down on: To take strong action to stop or limit a harmful or unwanted activity.
- The government is clamping down on teenage drinking.
24. Climb down: To admit that you have made a mistake or that you were wrong.
- The government was forced to climb down last night over its handling of pensions.
25. Clock down: To tick, buzz or become marked to indicate the passage of time.
- I watched the numbers clock down on the bedside alarm clock.
26. Come down:
A: To break and fall to the ground.
- The ceiling came down with a terrific crash.
B: Of rain, snow, etc.) to fall.
- The rain came down in torrents.
27. Come down: To criticize somebody severely or punish somebody.
28. Come down on: To criticize somebody severely or punish somebody. informal
- Don't come down too hard on her.
29. Come down to: To depend on a single important point.
- What it comes down to is either I get more money or I leave.
30. Come down with: To get an illness that is not very serious.
- I think I'm coming down with flu.
31. Cool down
A: To become cool or cooler.
- We cooled down with a swim in the lake.
B: To become calm, less excited or less enthusiastic.
- I think you should wait until she's cooled down a little.
C: To slow down or decrease.
- Growth in the market has started to cool down.
32. Count down: To think about a future event with pleasure or excitement and count the minutes, days, etc. until it happens.
- She's already counting down to the big day.
33. Crack down: To try harder to prevent an illegal activity and deal more severely with those who are caught doing it.
- Police are cracking down on drug dealers.
34. Cut down:
A: To kill somebody.
- He was cut down by an assassin's bullet.
B: To make something fall down by cutting it at the base.
- Some trees had been cut down.
C: To reduce the size, amount or number of something.
- We need to cut the article down to 1000 words.
35. Damp down:
A: To make a fire burn more slowly.
- Water was pumped from a nearby lake in an attempt to damp down the flames.
B: To make a strong feeling be felt less strongly.
- He had tried to damp down speculation about the state of his marriage.
36. Dash down: To write down hastily.
- I dashed down the steps and had just cleared the pen when suddenly a small deer crashed out of the underbrush and into our backyard.
37. Dial down
A: To reduce the noise, heat, etc. produced by a piece of equipment by moving its controls.
- The event organizers took the hint and dialled down the background music.
B: To reduce the amount, degree or power of a quality.
- He called on both sides to dial down the anger and start talking to each other.
38. Die down: To become gradually less strong, loud, easy to notice, etc.
- The flames finally died down.
39. Do down: To criticize someone in order to make them feel ashamed or to make other people lose respect.
- She felt that everyone in the meeting was trying to do her down.
40. Doss down: To sleep somewhere without a bed.
- Can I doss down at your house tonight, after the party?
41. Double down: To make a stronger commitment to a strategy or course of acton, especially one that may be dangerous
42. Drag down:
A: To make somebody feel weak or unhappy.
- Dwelling on the past only drags you down.
B: To bring somebody/something to a lower social or economic level, a lower standard of behaviour, etc.
- If he fails, he'll drag us all down with him.
43. Draw down
A: To reduce a supply of something that has been created over a period of time; to be reduced.
- There are many life events that can unexpectedly draw down savings.
B: To take money from a fund that a bank, etc. has made available.
- The company has already drawn down €600 million of its €725 million credit line.
44. Drill down
A: To examine information at another level or in greater detail; especially in a database, to navigate to a more detailed level or record.
- From the employee list, you can drill down to find addresses and pay history.
B: (of marching bands) an internal competition used to practice marching commands, in which the last person caught improperly executing a command wins.
- We knew someone had lost when the last two people in the drill down ended up facing each other.
45. Drive down: To force a price, value, etc. to go down.
- The wind chill drives down the temperature.
46. Dumb down
A: To convey some subject matter in simple terms, avoiding technical or academic language, especially in a way that is considered condescending.
- The public won't understand this concept. We need to dumb down our explanation of it.
B: To become simpler in expression or content; to become unacceptably simplistic.
- Television has really dumbed down over the past ten years.
47. Dust down: To remove dust, dirt, etc. from somebody/something.
- Mel stood up and dusted herself down.
48. Face down: To defeat someone or something that is opposing you by being brave and strong.
- He admired the President’s ability to face down critics.
49. Fall down
A: To fall to the ground. To collapse.
- The beams supporting the roof had rotted, causing the entire house to fall down.
B: To fail.
- That is where your reasoning falls down.
50. Fight down: To try hard not to do or show something, especially not to show your feelings.
- He fought down his disgust.
51. Filter down: To move slowly down to lower levels of an organisation, or population.
- They might say that the economy is improving, but it is taking a long time for any money to filter down to the poorer classes.
52. Flag down: Use a flag or similar kind of signal to get someone's attention.
- If you want a taxi in Central London, you'll have to stand in the road and flag one down.
53. Get down: To start to direct your efforts and attention towards something.
- I've got a lot of work to do, but I can't seem to get down to it.
54. Go down
A: If the price of something, the temperature, etc. goes down, it becomes lower.
- The price of oil is going down.
B: To fall to the ground.
- She tripped and went down with a bump.
C: If food or drink will/will not go down, it is easy/difficult to swallow.
- A glass of wine would go down very nicely (= I would very much like one).
D: To get worse in quality. informal
- The neighbourhood has gone down a lot recently.
E: (computing) to stop working temporarily.
- The system is going down in ten minutes.
F: To happen. informal
- You really don't know what's going down?
G: To be sent to prison. informal
- She went down for ten years.
55. Grind down: To treat somebody in a cruel unpleasant way over a long period of time, so that they become very unhappy.
- Don't let them grind you down.
56. Gulp down: To eat or drink something quickly.
- He hardly has time to gulp down a piece of pizza.
57. Gun down: To shoot somebody, especially killing or seriously injuring them.
- The policeman was gunned down while on duty.
58. Hand down:
A: To give or leave something to somebody who is younger than you.
- These skills used to be handed down from father to son.
B: To officially give a decision/statement, etc.
- The judge has handed down his verdict.
59. Hold down:
A: To prevent somebody from moving, using force.
- It took three men to hold him down.
B: To prevent somebody from having their freedom or rights.
- The people are held down by a repressive regime.
60. Hunker down:
A: To sit down on your heels.
- We hunkered down around the campfire, toasting marshmallows.
B: To make yourself comfortable in a place or situation, or to prepare to stay in a place or position for a long time, usually in order to achieve something or for protection.
- The press have hunkered down for the night outside the palace, waiting for news of the royal birth.
61. Hunt down:
A: To search for somebody until you catch or find them, especially in order to punish or harm them.
- The President warned that terrorists would be hunted down.
B: To search for something until you find it.
- We hunted down their phone number and gave them a call.
62. Jot down: To write down hurriedly; to make a note of.
- Tell me his number, and I'll jot it down on this scrap of paper.
63. Jot Down: To write something quickly
- I'll just jot down the address for you.
64. Jump down: To leave an elevated position to a lower position by one jump.
- I jumped down the small flight of stairs.
65. Keep down:
A: To repress.
- China keeps down her dissidents very efficiently.
B: To restrain or control (a sound).
- We must keep the noise down, or the neighbours will complain.
C: To cause not to increase or rise.
- It is essential to keep the numbers down to avoid overcrowding.
D: Not to vomit.
- It is difficult to keep anything down when you have the flu.
E: To lie low. To stay concealed by not standing up.
- You had better keep down or they will see you.
66. Kick down: To break or demolish something by physical bodily force.
- The elderly woman was rescued off the floor after a young paramedic managed to kick her door down.
67. Knock down:
A: To hit or knock (something or someone), intentionally or accidentally, so that it falls.
- As I took the can off the shelf, I knocked down the one beside it.
B: To demolish.
- We knocked down the garden shed when we moved.
C: At an auction, to declare (something) sold with a blow from the gavel.
- The picture was knocked down for £50.
D: To reduce the price of.
- They knocked it down by another £5, so we bought it.
E: To drink fast.
- I love to go down the pub and knock down pints of lager.
F: To disassemble for shipment.
- The furniture is shipped knocked down, so assembly is required.
68. Knuckle down: To get to work; to focus on a task.
- You should knuckle down and do your homework!
69. Lash down: (of rain) fall very heavily.
- When I awoke the rain was lashing down.
70. Lay down
A: If you lay down your weapons, you stop fighting.
- They laid down their weapons and surrendered.
B: To officially establish a rule, or to officially say how something should be done.
- This is in line with the policy laid down by the management.
71. Let down:
A: Fail to support or help someone as they had hoped or expected.
- If I let him down now, I knew he'd never trust me again.
B: Lower something slowly.
- They let down a basket on a chain.
C: Make a garment longer by lowering the hem.
- I put on a skirt that Sylvie had let down for me.
D: Deflate a tyre.
- The driver was still in the cab, so I couldn't let the tyres down.
E: (of an aircraft) descend prior to landing.
- Over the harbour, I started to let down.
72. Lie down: To be or get into a flat position, especially in bed, in order to sleep or rest.
- He lay down on the sofa and soon fell asleep.
73. Live down: To make people forget that you made a big mistake or did something very embarrassing in the past.
- If you show up with green hair, your parents will never let you live it down.
74. Look down: To think that you are better than someone.
- She thinks they look down on her because she doesn't have a job.
75. Look down on: To think that you are better than someone.
- She thinks they look down on her because she doesn't have a job.
76. Mark down:
A: To reduce the mark given to somebody in an exam, etc.
- She was marked down because of poor grammar.
B: To reduce the price of something.
- All goods have been marked down by 15 per cent.
C: To make a note of something for future use or action.
- The factory is already marked down for demolition.
77. Mark down as: To recognize somebody as a particular type.
- I hadn't got him marked down as a liberal.
78. Melt down: To heat a metal object until it turns to liquid, because you want to use the metal rather than the object.
- They melted down the gold rings and bracelets.
79. Move down: Used other than figuratively or idiomatically.
- Please move down inside the carriage to allow other passengers to board the train.
80. Mow down: To kill people, usually in large numbers, by shooting them or driving a vehicle into them.
- Three shoppers were mown down this afternoon when a drunken driver lost control of his car.
81. Nail down
A: To attach with nails.
- Nail down the shelf, then paint it.
B: To make something (e.g. a decision or plan) firm or certain.
- They haven't nailed down their vacation plans yet.
82. Narrow down: To make more specific.
- All the food on the menu looked delicious, so I tried to narrow down my choices to only healthy foods.
83. Note down: To write down, especially hurriedly; to make a note of.
- The police officer noted down details of the burglary.
84. Peg down: To fix something in place.
- The tent’s ropes were pegged down by two-foot stakes.
85. Page down: To scroll down to the next page of content.
- As I paged down through the year-old comments, I came to one young man's posting, in which he casually mentioned that he was looking for a boyfriend.
86. Pass down: To give something to someone who is younger, less important, or at a lower level than you.
- The word being passed down from the leadership is that the polls are showing good results.
87. Pat down: To search someone for weapons, drugs, etc. by touching their clothes.
- The police handcuffed him and patted him down.
88. Pelt down: To rain heavily.
- It's pelting down (with rain).
89. Phase down: To remove or stop using something gradually or in stages.
- We are working to phase down the use of this dangerous gas.
90. Pin down:
A: To attach or secure with pins.
- Pin down the tablecloth, so it doesn't blow away in the breeze.
B: To identify something (e.g. a decision or plan) clearly or specifically.
- Something is wrong, but I can't pin it down.
C: To corner somebody in order to get a firm answer.
- Let's try to pin him down on a price.
91. Pipe down: To stop talking or making unnecessary noise.
- Will you please pipe down, you two? I'm trying to read!
92. Piss down: To rain heavily.
- I'm not going to the shops now. It's pissing down.
93. Play down: To make or attempt to make something seem less important, likely, or obvious.
- The senator played down the threat of a recession.
94. Plump down: To sit dwn suddenly and heavily, or to put an object or child down suddenly and without taking care.
- Joan sat down at the front of the bus, and plumped her bags down beside her.
95. Power down: To stop a machine, especially a computer, by turning off the electricity supply.
- We were told to power down at 9.45.
96. Pull down
A: Emolish a building.
- The house was pulled down and the site redeveloped
B: Earn a specified sum of money.
- He was pulling down sixty grand a year.
97. Put down
A: Used other than figuratively or idiomatically.
- Why don't you put down your briefcase and stay awhile?
B: To insult, belittle, or demean.
- They frequently put down their little sister for walking slowly.
C: (of money as deposit) To pay.
- We put down a $1,000 deposit.
D: To halt, eliminate, stop, or squelch, often by force.
- The government quickly put down the insurrection.
E: To euthanize (an animal).
- Rex was in so much pain, they had to put him down.
F: To write (something).
- Put down the first thing you think of on this piece of paper.
G: To terminate a call; to hang up.
- Don't put the phone down. I want a quick word with him, too.
H: To add a name to a list.
- I've put myself down for the new Spanish conversation course.
I: To make prices, or taxes, lower.
- BP are putting petrol and diesel down in what could be the start of a price war.
J: To place a baby somewhere to sleep.
- I had just put Mary down when you rang. So now she's crying again.
K: To give something as a reason for something else.
- She put her long life down to daily meditation.
L: To land.
- The pilot managed to put down in a nearby farm field.
M: To drop someone off, or let them out of a vehicle.
- The taxi put him down outside the hotel.
N: To cease, temporarily or permanently, reading (a book).
- I was unable to put down The Stand: it was that exciting.
98. Put down as: To assume someone has a particular character from very little information.
- I put him down as ignorant, but then discovered he is, in fact, a university professor!
99. Put down for: To record that someone has offered to help, or contribute something.
- Put me down for one of the drivers.
100. Put down to: To ascribe; to assume to be the cause of a situation.
- I put the high crime rate down to the high unemployment.
101. Quiet down:
A: To become quieter.
- As the lights dimmed the general noise quieted down.
B: To make someone or something become quieter.
- The teacher did her best to quiet the children down.
C: To diminish in intensity.
- Diplomacy can only begin when the violence quiets down.
102. Quieten down:
A: To become quieter.
- As the lights dimmed the audience quietened down.
B: To reduce intensity of an activity.
- Diplomacy can only begin when the violence quietens down.
C: To make someone or something become quieter.
- The teacher did her best to quieten the children down.
103. Rain down:
A: To fall from the sky as, or like, rain.
- I'm soaking wet because it rained down on me.
B: To let fall as, or like, rain.
- In the latest supernatural incident, the sky rained down frogs.
C: To strike (literally or figuratively) many times and/or very intensely.
- My wrath will rain down upon you.
104. Round down: To round (a number) to the greatest integer that is not greater than it, or to some other lower value, especially a whole number of hundreds, thousands, etc.
- The total is $25,715, but to keep the figures simple, I'll round it down to $25,000.
105. Rub down
A: To rub the skin of a person, horse, etc. hard with something to make it clean and dry.
- I came out of the water and rubbed myself down with a towel.
B: To make something smooth by rubbing it with a special material.
- Rub the wood down well with fine sandpaper before painting.
106. Run down
A: To hit someone with a car or other vehicle and injure or kill them.
- He was run down while crossing the main road.
B: To criticize someone or an organisation, often unfairly.
- Whatever the company says, the media is going to run them down.
C: To find something or someone after searching for a long time.
- I finally managed to run down that report. I had filed it incorrectly.
D: To lose power slowly. Used for a machine, battery, or other powered device.
- You need to wind up the clock every day so that it doesn't run down.
E: To read quickly a list or other short text.
- Running down the list of suggestions, I can see three we can discard immediately.
F: To reduce the size or stock levels of a business, often with a view to closure.
- The board of directors have decided to run down the stocks held in storage prior to offering the company for sale.
G: To decline in condition.
- To run down in health.
H: To chase till the object pursued is captured or exhausted.
- To run down a stag.
107. Scale down: To reduce the number, size or extent of something.
- We are thinking of scaling down our training programmes next year.
108. Scarf down : To eat something quickly.
- I plan to scarf down the rest of this sandwich and get back to work.
109. Sell down:
A: To become less by being sold.
- Don't order any potato cakes for 3 days while what we have sells down.
B: To reduce by selling.
- Don't order any potato cakes for 3 days while we sell down our stocks.
110. Send down:
A: To suspend or expel (an undergraduate) from university.
- He was sent down from Oxford for theft
B: To commit (someone) to a prison term.
- Eventually she was caught, and sent down for twelve years.
C: To demote a player within the levels of professional baseball.
- After performing poorly for the first month of the season, he was sent down to the minor leagues.
111. Set down:
A: (of a bus or train, or its driver) to stop and allow somebody to get off.
- Passengers may be set down and picked up only at the official stops.