descend.
Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position.
Meaning & usage
Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position. To pass from a higher to a lower part of (something, such as a flight of stairs or a slope); to go down along or upon.
they descended the river in boats
to descend a ladder
Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position. Of a flight of stairs, a road, etc.: to lead down (a hill, a slope, etc.).
They took the steep path that descends the hill down to the beach.
Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position. To move (someone or something) from a higher to a lower place or position; to bring or send (someone or something) down.
Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position. To physically move or pass from a higher to a lower place or position; to come or go down in any way, such as by climbing, falling, flowing, walking, etc.; to move downwards; to fall, to sink.
Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position. To physically move or pass from a higher to a lower place or position; to come or go down in any way, such as by climbing, falling, flowing, walking, etc.; to move downwards; to fall, to sink. Of a zodiac sign: to move away from the zenith towards the horizon; to sink; also, of a planet: to move to a place where it has less astrological significance.
Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position. To physically move or pass from a higher to a lower place or position; to come or go down in any way, such as by climbing, falling, flowing, walking, etc.; to move downwards; to fall, to sink. Of a celestial body: to move away from the zenith towards the horizon; to sink; also, to move towards the south.
Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position. To physically move or pass from a higher to a lower place or position; to come or go down in any way, such as by climbing, falling, flowing, walking, etc.; to move downwards; to fall, to sink. Of a body part: to move downwards, especially during development of the embryo; specifically, of the testes of a mammal: to move downwards from the abdominal cavity into the scrotum.
Cryptorchidism is the failure of one or both testes to descend into the scrotum.
Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position. To physically move or pass from a higher to a lower place or position; to come or go down in any way, such as by climbing, falling, flowing, walking, etc.; to move downwards; to fall, to sink. Of a liquid substance: to distil out from another substance and gather at the bottom of a container; also, to distil a substance to obtain another liquid substance in this manner.
Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position. To slope or stretch downwards.
Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position. To alight from a carriage, a horse, etc.; also, to disembark from a vessel; to land.
Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position. To come or go down, or reduce, in intensity or some other quality.
Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position. Of a physical thing (such as a cloud or storm) or a (generally negative) immaterial thing (such as darkness, gloom, or silence): to settle upon and start to affect a person or place.
Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position. In speech or writing: to proceed from one matter to another; especially, to pass from more general or important to specific or less important matters to be considered.
Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position. Chiefly followed by into or to: of a situation: to become worse; to decline, to deteriorate.
The meeting descended into chaos.
Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position. Chiefly followed by on or upon: to make an attack or incursion, from or as if from a vantage ground; to come suddenly and with violence.
Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position. Chiefly followed by on or upon: to arrive suddenly or unexpectedly, especially in a manner that causes disruption or inconvenience.
My neighbour descended upon me just as I was walking out the door.
Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position. To come down to a humbler or less fortunate, or a worse or less virtuous, rank or state; to abase or lower oneself; to condescend or stoop to something.
He descended from his high estate.
Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position. Chiefly in the form descend into (or within) oneself: to mentally enter a state of (deep) meditation or thought; to retire.
Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position. Of a sequence or series: to proceed from higher to lower values.
Senses relating to moving from a higher to a lower position. To pass from a higher to a lower note or tone; to fall in pitch.
Senses relating to passing down from a source to another thing. To trace (a lineage) from earlier to later generations.
Senses relating to passing down from a source to another thing. Of a characteristic: to be transmitted from a parent to a child.
Senses relating to passing down from a source to another thing. Chiefly followed by from or (obsolete) of: to come down or derive from an ancestor or ancestral stock, or a source; to originate, to stem.
The beggar may descend from a prince.
Senses relating to passing down from a source to another thing. Of property, a right, etc.: to pass down to a generation, a person, etc., by inheritance.
The crown descends to the heir of the previous monarch.
Where this word comes from
The verb is derived from Middle English descenden (“to move downwards, fall, descend; to slope downwards; to go from a better to a worse condition, decline, degenerate; to be a descendant, derive from (a source); etc.”), from Anglo-Norman descendere, descendre, and Old French descendere, descendre (“to move downwards, fall, descend; to slope downwards; to be a descendant, derive from (a source); etc.”) (modern French descendre), and from their etymon Latin dēscendere, the present active infinitive of dēscendō (“to come or go down, fall, descend; to slope downwards; to be a descendant; etc.”), from de- (prefix meaning ‘from; down from’) + scandō (“to ascend, climb; to clamber”) (from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to climb, scale; to dart; to jump”)). The noun is derived from the verb.
Synonym of descent (“instance of descending; sloping incline or passage; way down; decline, etc.”).
Where this word comes from
The verb is derived from Middle English descenden (“to move downwards, fall, descend; to slope downwards; to go from a better to a worse condition, decline, degenerate; to be a descendant, derive from (a source); etc.”), from Anglo-Norman descendere, descendre, and Old French descendere, descendre (“to move downwards, fall, descend; to slope downwards; to be a descendant, derive from (a source); etc.”) (modern French descendre), and from their etymon Latin dēscendere, the present active infinitive of dēscendō (“to come or go down, fall, descend; to slope downwards; to be a descendant; etc.”), from de- (prefix meaning ‘from; down from’) + scandō (“to ascend, climb; to clamber”) (from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to climb, scale; to dart; to jump”)). The noun is derived from the verb.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.