descender

[ dih-sen-der ]

noun

1. a person or thing that descends.
2. Printing.
   1. the part of a lowercase letter that goes below the body.
   2. a letter having such a part, as p, q, j, or y.

descender

/ dɪˈsɛndə /

noun

1. a person or thing that descends
2. printing the portion of a letter, such as j, p, or y, below the level of the base of an x or n

Word History and Origins

Origin of descender¹

First recorded in 1660–70; descend + -er ¹

Example Sentences

There’s a warning out there that there may be gravel on the road as the descenders fly down.

From The Guardian

I want to be the smooth, speedy giant-slalom racing descender, but I'm not.

From Los Angeles Times

Ms. Grimmelsman says she is the better climber and her husband is the better descender.

From Wall Street Journal

Helene plays for time as I frantically untangle the ropes and straighten the descender.

From Literature

The plans would have seen riders timed on 10 downhill sections during the three-week race, with prizes for each day and the overall fastest descender.

From BBC