Meanings
- A street leading off Whitehall in Westminster, London containing the residences of the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer
- broadlymetonymicallyThe British government.
[…] both Whitehall and Downing Street are in a blue funk lest they should do the wrong thing, either let the man slip away with the papers or arrest him without them.
1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC1 more example
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the attack an “appalling incident” that was “deeply concerning”, while Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood said she was “saddened” and urged people to avoid comment and speculation. Downing Street is keen to quell rumours spreading online following an incident in Southport in 2024, when the murder of three young girls sparked days of riots across the country.
2025 November 3, Alex Kozul-Wright and News Agencies, “UK train stabbing attack – how it unfolded and what we know now”, in Aljazeera - broadlyEither 10 Downing Street or 11 Downing Street.
For all his faults and grandstanding, however, Prescott genuinely cared - and his ambitious plans for tram schemes and railway extensions were stymied by lack of support from Downing Street.
2024 January 10, Christian Wolmar, “A time for change? ... just as it was back in issue 262”, in RAIL, number 1000, page 60
Origin
Named for its founder, Sir George Downing.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Downing Street. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Downing%20Street
“Downing Street.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Downing%20Street. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Downing Street,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Downing%20Street.
Source: Downing Street on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.