downwards

D2O1W4N1W4A1R1D2S1
UK/ˈdaʊnwədz/US/ˈdaʊnwɚdz/

adverb

Towards a lower place; towards what is below.

“Gravity pulls everything downwards.”

Similar
downwarddowndownwardly
Opposite
upwardsup
OriginEnglish down ← Middle English doun ← Old English dūne →
Less commonScrabble 17
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Meanings

adverbdownwards (not comparable)
  1. not comparableTowards a lower place; towards what is below.

    Gravity pulls everything downwards.

  2. not comparableTowards something which is lower in order, smaller, inferior, etc.

    After the rise in oil prices, the economy headed downwards.

adjectivedownwards (comparative more downwards, superlative most downwards)

comparative more downwards · superlative most downwards

  1. Downward.

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
downwarddown
Opposite
upwardsup

adverbspatially or metaphorically from a higher to a lower level or position

Similar
downdownwarddownwardly
Opposite
upwards
Also see
belowdowndownwarddownwardly

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Englishof-
  2. Proto-Germanic*dūnaz?
  3. Proto-Celtic*dūnomder.?
  4. Proto-West Germanic*dūnā
  5. Old Englishdūne
  6. Old Englishofdūne
  7. Old Englishadūne
  8. Old Englishdūne
  9. Middle Englishdoun
  10. Englishdown
  11. Englishdownwards

From down + -wards.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek κάτω
  • κάτω (kátō)towards a lower place
Dutch benedenwaarts
  • benedenwaartstowards a lower place
Finnish alas, alaspäin
  • alastowards a lower place
  • alaspäintowards a lower place
  • alaspäinto a lower figure or amount
German abwärts, nach unten
  • abwärtstowards a lower place
  • nach untentowards a lower place
  • hinabtowards a lower place
  • herabtowards a lower place
  • hinuntertowards a lower place
  • heruntertowards a lower place
Hebrew מַטָּה, לְמַטָּה
  • מַטָּה (matá)towards a lower place
  • לְמַטָּה (l'matá)towards a lower place
  • כְּלַפֵּי־מַטָּה (klapei matá)towards a lower place
Hungarian lefelé
  • lefelétowards a lower place
Latin deorsum
  • deorsumtowards a lower place
Russian вниз
  • вниз (vniz)towards a lower place
Spanish hacia abajo, para abajo
  • hacia abajotowards a lower place
  • para abajoto a lower figure or amount
  • a la bajato a lower figure or amount
Swedish nedåt
  • nedåttowards a lower place
Cite this entry
APA

downwards. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/downwards

MLA

“downwards.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/downwards. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “downwards,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/downwards.

Source: downwards on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.