as in prairie
a broad area of level or rolling treeless country
hold a festival on the downs
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in drops
to strike (someone) so forcefully as to cause a fall
downed his opponent with one stunning blow
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in sips
to take into the stomach through the mouth and throat
downing slices of pizza and guzzling bottles of soda
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in dismisses
to reject by or as if by a vote
all attempts to ban indoor smoking had been downed by the town council
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of downs
Brittany Ghiroli, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2026
Ultimately, Hunter’s impact needs to be felt on early downs.
—Mike Kaye
april 26, Charlotte Observer, 26 Apr. 2026
The Seahawks took him off the field on third downs.
—Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 25 Apr. 2026
His ability to slide inside on pass downs fits the 49ers’ philosophy, perhaps too much so.
—Cam Inman, Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2026
Pimpton was Craig’s favorite target on third downs and flourished in the short and intermediate passing game.
—Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Apr. 2026
More likely, the Nuggets will run plenty of sets with him coming off pin-downs and other screens to catch in the flow of their half-court offense, sparing him from the burden of initiating every possession.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 17 Apr. 2026
As a sophomore on varsity last season, Triolo had typical ups and downs.
—Steve Millar, Chicago Tribune, 16 Apr. 2026
Universal’s classic monster movies have had some ups and downs in the past few years.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 16 Apr. 2026
Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Apr. 2026
Greene downs it, throws the kid his jersey, smiles, and all is right with the world.
—Debby Wolfinsohn, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Feb. 2026
But Sarah Graves gives a bit too much room and Penn downs a 3-pointeron the wing.
—Zoe Collins Rath, Austin American Statesman, 30 Nov. 2025
In between questions about Nineties cultural touchstones like Friends, Space Jam, Beavis and Butthead, the Spice Girls, and Sir-Mix-A-Lot — during which Kravitz racks up a lot of points and Butler downs a lot of shots — the pair also discusses working on Caught Stealing.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2025
Noun
And what about the fans, who have been riding this roller coaster of rotating baseball operations heads for a decade, with a 2018 World Series ring, yes, but still far too many downs than ups?
—Brittany Ghiroli, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2026
Ultimately, Hunter’s impact needs to be felt on early downs.
—Mike Kaye
april 26, Charlotte Observer, 26 Apr. 2026
The Seahawks took him off the field on third downs.
—Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 25 Apr. 2026
His ability to slide inside on pass downs fits the 49ers’ philosophy, perhaps too much so.
—Cam Inman, Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2026
Pimpton was Craig’s favorite target on third downs and flourished in the short and intermediate passing game.
—Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Apr. 2026
More likely, the Nuggets will run plenty of sets with him coming off pin-downs and other screens to catch in the flow of their half-court offense, sparing him from the burden of initiating every possession.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 17 Apr. 2026
As a sophomore on varsity last season, Triolo had typical ups and downs.
—Steve Millar, Chicago Tribune, 16 Apr. 2026
Universal’s classic monster movies have had some ups and downs in the past few years.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 16 Apr. 2026
Verb
Springtown takes edge in 7-4A race, downs Decatur Springtown got the inside track on the District 7-4A championship after beating Decatur 4-2 in 8 innings on Monday night at Decatur High School.
—Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Apr. 2026
Greene downs it, throws the kid his jersey, smiles, and all is right with the world.
—Debby Wolfinsohn, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Feb. 2026
But Sarah Graves gives a bit too much room and Penn downs a 3-pointeron the wing.
—Zoe Collins Rath, Austin American Statesman, 30 Nov. 2025
In between questions about Nineties cultural touchstones like Friends, Space Jam, Beavis and Butthead, the Spice Girls, and Sir-Mix-A-Lot — during which Kravitz racks up a lot of points and Butler downs a lot of shots — the pair also discusses working on Caught Stealing.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for downs
Noun
-
How bison help native Fort Worth lands Fort Worth is losing up to 50 acres of prairie per week, according to Mayor Mattie Parker’s Good Natured Greenspace Initiative.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Beginning in late January and into February, male prairie-chickens begin to gather in low grass to start this elaborate courtship display.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Erdős also noticed that the score drops if all of a set’s numbers are large—the larger the numbers, the lower the score.—
Joseph Howlett,
Scientific American,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Garcia runs away screaming toward a third officer and drops the stick before he’s pushed down into a bed of bushes growing along the street curb.—
Ruben Vives,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Group support Wrapped in a fleece jacket, Sarah sips white wine from a stemmed glass.—
Gerald Witt,
AJC.com,
1 Mar. 2026
-
Nasser adds a spoonful to her chia cherry water recipe and sips the fiber-rich drink slowly during the evenings.—
Devinder Bains,
Vogue,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
When bumbling village policeman Derry (an endearing Nicholas Braun) dismisses any suspicion of foul play despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, it’s left to the sheep to prove otherwise — despite no ability to converse with their human counterparts beyond Lassie-style leading and hinting.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The Ohio Republican Party chairman, Alex Triantafilou, dismisses Putsch's attacks as typical for a primary election.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
There, Patagonia stretches out into wide skies, windswept pampas, turquoise lakes, and towering ice fields.—
Eric Sheets,
Travel + Leisure,
5 Dec. 2025
-
The earthy palette of browns, pampa greens, and guanaco beiges further enhances the collection’s life-in-the-great-outdoors vibe, only occasionally countered with pops of vivid blue and black.—
Martino Carrera,
Footwear News,
18 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
But each release specifies exactly which warehouse and even which floors the barrels for a particular batch were matured, which is similar to Hardin’s Creek.—
Jonah Flicker,
Robb Report,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Once the python swallows the tracker, biologists can track the dangerous python.—
Ticked Off,
The Orlando Sentinel,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Scientists discovered that when a python swallows a collared opossum whole, the GPS device keeps transmitting from inside the snake.—
Hanna Wickes,
Kansas City Star,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Samorajczyk said that high temperatures are what kills weeds with Foamstream or AquaPro and also noted that the DOT is speaking with vendors and scientists who are developing this technology to have a wand on the front bumper to kill weeds on guiderails.—
Sean Krofssik,
Hartford Courant,
29 Apr. 2026
-
His film Ring, directed by Hideo Nakata, centered on a cursed videotape that kills viewers seven days after watching it.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Downs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/downs. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
