downgrade

American  

[doun-greyd] / ˈdaʊnˌgreɪd /

noun

1. a downward slope, especially of a road.

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adjective

1. downhill.

verb (used with object)

downgraded, downgrading

1. to assign to a lower status with a smaller salary.

2. to minimize the importance of; denigrate.

   She tried to downgrade the findings of the investigation.

3. to assign a lower security classification to (information, a document, etc.).

idioms

1. on the downgrade, in a decline toward an inferior state or position.

   His career has been on the downgrade.

downgrade British  

/ ˈdaʊnˌɡreɪd /

verb

1. to reduce in importance, esteem, or value, esp to demote (a person) to a poorer job

2. to speak of disparagingly

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noun

1. a downward slope, esp in a road

2. waning in importance, popularity, health, etc

Other Word Forms

• downgrader noun

Etymology

Origin of downgrade

An Americanism dating back to 1855–60; down ¹ + grade

Example Sentences

Scotts Miracle-Gro’s stock gets a downgrade from J.P.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

It also gave the U.K. the largest growth downgrade of the 20 economies for which it provides forecasts, with activity now seen expanding 0.7% this year, down from 1.2%.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

Along with the downgrade to BB+ from BBB-, Fitch placed Paramount on rating watch negative earlier this month.

From Barron's • Mar. 19, 2026

Novo Nordisk on Tuesday received a broker downgrade, with the analysts arguing that its status in a duopoly in both diabetes and weight loss are under threat.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 10, 2026

She told them, for instance, that even though she was responsible for evaluating subprime mortgage bonds, she wasn’t allowed by her bosses simply to downgrade the ones she thought deserved to be downgraded.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

• degrade
• demote
• devalue
• reduce
• undervalue