downpick

downpick noun: a downward stroke with a plectrum on a stringed instrument; downstroke.

Noun

downpick (plural downpicks)

A downward stroke with a plectrum on a stringed instrument; downstroke.
- Outstanding selections include a knuckle-busting medley ("Chilly Winds-Old Joe Clark-Salt River- Johnny Bring the Jug Around the Hill") played in the bright, aggressive downpick clawhammer style of Wade Ward.2003, The Old-time Herald: A Magazine Dedicated to Old-time Music, page 226
- Use all downpicks to get a more hard-driving sound.2006, Dan Fox, Alfred's Teach Yourself to Read Music for Guitar, →ISBN, page 25

downpick (third-person singular simple present downpicks, present participle downpicking, simple past and past participle downpicked)

To play a stringed instrument by using all downpicks.
- “When I was playing with James Hetfield in Metallica,” Dave says, “we pretty much decided that rhythm guitar should be downpicking when it comes to pedaling, until it's so fast that you can't downpick anymore..."1992, Musician - Issues 165-170, page 100
- Well, that is only a half-truth, as Mr. Steele also downpicked, that is, trailed.1999, Old Time Herald - Volume 7, page 52

Noun
plural	downpicks
Verb
third-person singular present	downpicks
present participle	downpicking
past participle	downpicked
past	downpicked

From down + pick.

What does downpick mean?: Downpick means a downward stroke with a plectrum on a stringed instrument; downstroke.
What part of speech is downpick?: Downpick can be a noun or a verb.
What is the plural of downpick?: The plural of downpick is downpicks.

Adapted from Wiktionary: downpick (page history and authors). 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: 2026-09-02

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