Word.ws English Dictionary

download

/ˈdaʊnˌləʊd//ˈdaʊnˌloʊd/

download noun: a file transfer to a given computer or device from a remote one through a network connection.

Noun

download (plural downloads)

  1. A file transfer to a given computer or device from a remote one through a network connection.
    • The download took longer than I expected.
  2. A file that has been or is intended to be transferred in this way.
    • I got the download but it wouldn't work on my computer.
    • The blue sites will be blocked on all school computers, and no email or instant messaging will be set up or permitted. These student computers would strictly be for school use. Teachers will be able to request downloads from students' jumpdrives.2007, Barbara Ellen Harris, I Am So Pissed!

Verb

download (third-person singular simple present downloads, present participle downloading, simple past and past participle downloaded)

  1. (transitive) To transfer data to a given computer from a remote one via a network.
    • You can download a trial version of the program for thirty days to determine whether you want to purchase the full version.
    • You can download Google's deskbar for free […]2005, Preston Gralla, Windows XP Power Hound: Teach Yourself New Tricks, page 179
  2. (nonstandard, transitive) Synonym of upload: to send data from a given computer to a remote one.
    Synonyms:
    upload
  3. (nonstandard, transitive) Synonym of copy: to transfer data to or from removable media.
    • When I was your age, there were no flash drives. I needed to download photos to a CD-ROM.
    Synonyms:
    copy
  4. (nonstandard, transitive) Synonym of install: to load software forced.
    Synonyms:
    install
  5. (transitive) To load a gun (especially a muzzle-loader) with less propellant than its designed load.
  6. (Canada, transitive) To transfer jurisdiction and responsibility of a government asset or service to a lower level of government.
    • In 1997, The Harris government also downloaded a number of social services to municipal governments, including affordable housing.Allister Thompson ((Can we date this quote?)), “Mike Harris”, in The Canadian Encyclopedia, The Canadian Encyclopedia, archived from the original on 13 Aug 2023

download meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

download in Hindi

file transfer to the local computer
डाउनलोड ḍāunloḍ, अवचयन avacyan, अवाहरण avāhraṇ, अवारोपण avāropaṇ
to transfer data from a remote computer to a local one
उतारना utārnā, अवारोपण avāropaṇ, अवाहरण avāhraṇ, अवचयन avacyan

download in Tamil

file transfer to the local computer
பதிவிறக்கம் pativiṟakkam, டவுன்லோட் ṭavuṉlōṭ
to transfer data from a remote computer to a local one
பதிவிறக்கு pativiṟakku, டவுன்லோட் பண்ணு ṭavuṉlōṭ paṇṇu

download in Marathi

file transfer to the local computer
डाउनलोड ḍāunloḍ
to transfer data from a remote computer to a local one
डाउनलोड करणे ḍāunloḍ karṇe

download in Urdu

file transfer to the local computer
ڈاؤنلوڈ ḍāunloḍ
More languagesFewer languages
download in Bengali
ডাউনলোড ḍaunlōḍ, ডাউনলোড করা ḍaunlōḍ kora
download in Telugu
డౌన్లోడ్ చేయండి, డౌన్లోడ్ చేసుకోండి, డౌన్లోడ్ చేస్కోండి
download in Malayalam
ഡൌൺലോഡ് ചെയ്യുക, ഡൌൺലോഡുചെയ്യുക, ഡൌൺലോഡ് ചെയ്യൂ
download in Kannada
ಕೆಳಗಿಳಿಸು, ಪಡೆ, ನಕಲಿಳಿಸು
download in Punjabi
ਡਾਊਨਲੋਡ ਕਰੋ, ਡਾਉਨਲੋਡ ਕਰੋ, ਡਾਊਂਨਲੋਡ ਕਰੋ
download in Gujarati
ઉતારવું utārvũ
download in Odia
ଡାଉନଲୋଡ୍ କରନ୍ତୁ, ଡାଉନ୍ଲୋଡ୍ କରନ୍ତୁ, ଡାଉନଲୋଡ କରନ୍ତୁ
download in Sanskrit
अवारोपण avāropaṇa, अवाहरण avāharaṇa, अवचयन avacayana
download in Assamese
নমোৱা nomüa
download in Nepali
डाउनलोड गर्नुहोस्, डाउनलोड, डाउनलोडर गर्नुहोस्
download in Arabic
تَنْزِيل tanzīl, نَزَّلَ nazzala
download in Malay
muat turun
download in Indonesian
unduhan, sedot, mengunduh
download in Persian
دانلود, بارگیری bârgiri
download in Thai
ดาวน์โหลด daao-lòot
download in Vietnamese
sự tải xuống, sự truyền xuống, sự nạp xuống, sự viễn nạp

Examples of download in a sentence

  • Finally, some e-content must first be downloaded to a computer before being transferred to a tablet or other mobile device for viewing.2012, Rebecca K. Miller, Carolyn Meier, Heather Moorfield-Lang, Rethinking Reference and Instruction with Tablets, page 38:
  • With Apple’s solar farm, customers could now be confident that downloading an app or video-chatting a friend would not increase carbon pollution, Jackson said.2014 July 25, Suzanne Goldenberg, “Apple eyes solar to power the cloud and iPhone 6 sapphire manufacturing”, in The Guardian:
  • That means the game was playable offline and could be downloaded onto phones or computers.2022 February 15, David Goldman, “Why your Wordle answers might now be different than your friends’”, in CNN Business:

All 40 example sentences with download

Synonyms of download

Forms of download

Noun
pluraldownloads
alternative formDL
alternative formdl
alternative formd/l
alternative formD/L
Verb
third-person singular presentdownloads
present participledownloading
past participledownloaded
pastdownloaded

Past tense of download: downloaded

Plural of download: downloads

Origin of download

From down- + load. Verbal form first appears c. 1962 in the Wichita Falls (Texas) Times. Nominal form first appears c. 1977 in Scientific American.

Words formed from download

Phrases with download

Questions about download

What does download mean?
Download means a file transfer to a given computer or device from a remote one through a network connection.
What is download in Hindi?
Download in Hindi is डाउनलोड (ḍāunloḍ), अवचयन (avacyan), अवाहरण (avāhraṇ). See Download meaning in Hindi.
How do you use download in a sentence?
Finally, some e-content must first be downloaded to a computer before being transferred to a tablet or other mobile device for viewing.
What part of speech is download?
Download can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce download?
Download is pronounced /ˈdaʊnˌləʊd/.
What is the plural of download?
The plural of download is downloads.

Words near download in the dictionary

  1. downlisted
  2. downlisting
  3. downlistings
  4. downlists
  5. downlit
  6. download
  7. download manager
  8. download managers
  9. downloadability
  10. downloadable
  11. downloadables

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: download (page history and authors); download (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); download (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); download (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); download (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); download (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); নমোৱা (Assamese) (page history and authors); download (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-download.wav, en-us-download.ogg.

Cite this entry: “download.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/download. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.