Word.ws English Dictionary

downtrod

downtrod verb: to oppress, suppress, exploit, persecute, step down on; put down; denigrate, subjugate.

Verb

downtrod (third-person singular simple present downtrods, present participle downtrodding, simple past downtrod, past participle downtrodden)

  1. (US) to oppress, suppress, exploit, persecute, step down on; put down; denigrate, subjugate
    • And I don't know of any manufacturer or any industry that wants to downtrod the farmer.1935, The Cotton Oil Press, Vol.19, Digitized edition, published 2009, page 36
    • I've heard wicked rumors that FAA and wives try to downtrod small aircraft pilots.1967, The AOPA pilot: Volume 10, Part 1 (Aeronautics), Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, page 64
    Synonyms:
    downtread

Adjective

downtrod (comparative more downtrod, superlative most downtrod)

  1. (archaic, poetic) downtrodden; abused by superior power
    • I will lift the downtrod Mortimerc. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
    • Consider the lowly, downtrod worm.1942, Richard Armour, Yours for the Asking: A Book of Light Verse

Synonyms of downtrod

Forms of downtrod

Verb
third-person singular presentdowntrods
present participledowntrodding
pastdowntrod
past participledowntrodden
Adjective
comparativemore downtrod
superlativemost downtrod

Origin of downtrod

Back-formation from downtrodden; see downtread.

From down- + trod.

Questions about downtrod

What does downtrod mean?
Downtrod means to oppress, suppress, exploit, persecute, step down on; put down; denigrate, subjugate.
What part of speech is downtrod?
Downtrod can be a verb or an adjective.
What is the past tense of downtrod?
The past tense of downtrod is downtrod.

Words near downtrod in the dictionary

  1. downtrees
  2. downtrend
  3. downtrended
  4. downtrending
  5. downtrends
  6. downtrod
  7. downtrodden
  8. downtroddenly
  9. downtroddenness
  10. downtrodding
  11. downtrods

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: downtrod (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.

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