be down
Idioms-
Be depressed, in low spirits, as in During the winter months Sue's always down, but spring cheers her up . [ Colloquial ; mid-1800s]
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Be knowledgeable, canny, or sophisticated, as in He was really down with the new group . This usage probably originated among jazz musicians. [ Slang ; mid-1940s]
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.
On Friday, Clear’s stock tumbled as much as 12% intraday, before bouncing slightly to be down 10.7% in recent afternoon trading.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 27, 2026
EV sales are still expected to be down 28% compared to a year earlier, according to the research firm Cox Automotive.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026
This also means the current government cannot make a decision before May's Senedd election, as it had hoped, and it will instead be down to the next administration.
From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026
It may be down to reports that the Pentagon is looking at sending up to 10,000 additional troops External link to the Middle East.
From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026
The doorbell rings and my mom says what she always says: “Tell Ben I’ll be down in a minute.”
From "The Fourteenth Goldfish" by Jennifer L. Holm
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.
