down with
Idioms-
Ill with, as in He's down with the flu . The down here alludes to being felled by illness. Also see come down with .
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Depose, do away with, as in Down with the king! This imperative dates from the early 1500s.
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Lower or put something down, as in Down with the mainsail . [Mid-1600s]
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. Be close friends with, as in I'm down with that crowd . [ Slang ; late 1900s]
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.
“Fear is the greatest obstacle for any entrepreneur”; “sometimes the biggest challenges become our greatest opportunities”; “learning how to lift people up into their roles instead of managing down with constant criticism is key.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
New listings in the fire zone also have slowed down, with only about 1% of severely fire-damaged homes up for sale in February, down from about 2% five months prior.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
Enough that Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, is willing to sit down with her for an hourlong podcast.
From Slate • Apr. 7, 2026
Our planet appears upside down, with the Sahara desert and the Iberian peninsula visible to the left and the eastern portion of South America to the right.
From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026
Long before the sum was raised Father came down with the hepatitis that almost cost his life: during the long stay in the hospital his beard turned snow white.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Definitions 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.
