Downs

¹ British  

/ daʊnz /

noun

1. any of various ranges of low chalk hills in S England, esp the South Downs in Sussex

2. a roadstead off the SE coast of Kent, protected by the Goodwin Sands

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downs ² British  

/ daʊnz /

plural noun

1. Also called: downland.  rolling upland, esp in the chalk areas of S Britain, characterized by lack of trees and used mainly as pasture

2. a flat grassy area, not necessarily of uplands

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Example Sentences

Each Derby candidate has only one or two chances remaining to earn one of the 20 stalls in the oversized starting gate at Churchill Downs.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026

The power generated at the United Downs site has been sold to Octopus Energy who will deliver it, via the national grid, to meet the electricity needs of up to 10,000 homes.

From BBC • Feb. 26, 2026

Crump won the first race of the day at Churchill Downs on May 2, 1970, but Fathom, the horse she rode in the main event, was better suited for shorter races than the Derby.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

American economist Anthony Downs called this “rational ignorance,” and it is made worse by complex laws and bureaucracy that few people fully understand.

From Salon • Jan. 15, 2026

Forty leagues it stretched from the Far Downs to the Brandywine Bridge, and fifty from the northern moors to the marshes in the south.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien