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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

downstream.

Toward the lower part of a stream; with the current (of a river, brook, or other flow of fluid).

10 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˌdaʊnˈstɹiːm/
  1. Toward the lower part of a stream; with the current (of a river, brook, or other flow of fluid).

  2. Occurring later than something else; (also, usually, especially) influenced by something else; being a consequence of something else.

    figuratively
    Input validation is downstream of input entry in the runtime process.
  3. Occurring later than something else; (also, usually, especially) influenced by something else; being a consequence of something else. In the direction from the server to the client.

    figuratively
  4. Occurring later than something else; (also, usually, especially) influenced by something else; being a consequence of something else. Towards the 3′ end of a DNA molecule.

    figuratively
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree English down- Proto-Indo-European *ser-? Proto-Indo-European *srew-der. Proto-Indo-European *srow-mo-s Proto-Germanic *straumaz Proto-West Germanic *straum Old English strēam Middle English strem English stream English downstream From down- + stream.

adv/ˌdaʊnˈstɹiːm/
  1. Following the path of a river or stream.

    We spent the day paddling downstream in our canoes.
    She lives downstream from the dam.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree English down- Proto-Indo-European *ser-? Proto-Indo-European *srew-der. Proto-Indo-European *srow-mo-s Proto-Germanic *straumaz Proto-West Germanic *straum Old English strēam Middle English strem English stream English downstream From down- + stream.

verb/ˌdaʊnˈstɹiːm/
  1. To stream downward.

  2. Of the original developers: to make available (a version or patch) to downstream developers and users of the software.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree English down- Proto-Indo-European *ser-? Proto-Indo-European *srew-der. Proto-Indo-European *srow-mo-s Proto-Germanic *straumaz Proto-West Germanic *straum Old English strēam Middle English strem English stream English downstream From down- + stream.

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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.