any of various ranges of low chalk hills in S England, esp the South Downs in Sussex
a roadstead off the SE coast of Kent, protected by the Goodwin Sands
Also called: downland. rolling upland, esp in the chalk areas of S Britain, characterized by lack of trees and used mainly as pasture
a flat grassy area, not necessarily of uplands
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“It’s a bit of a mystery. I have this feeling—is this the whole story?” said Erica Downs, a Columbia University scholar who has researched China’s oil refineries.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
Conservationists said the aim was to restore a sustainable population of water voles along the River Wey, from its source on Black Down in the South Downs National Park to Weybridge on the Thames.
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026
And Nick Jensen’s distemper-and-oil canvases at Tara Downs feel like encountering a Degas in a dream, which begins to rapidly dissolve as we wake up.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
She was 22 when she showed up at Churchill Downs.
From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2026
Smith then shipped him down to Cincinnati’s River Downs, where the horse narrowly missed winning two more minor stakes.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
