downwards

It has been requested that this entry be merged with downward(+).

From down + -wards.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈdaʊnwədz/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈdaʊnwɚdz/

downwards (not comparable)

1. Towards a lower place; towards what is below.

   Gravity pulls everything downwards.

2. Towards something which is lower in order, smaller, inferior, etc.

   After the rise in oil prices, the economy headed downwards.

• More common than downward as an adverb until 1890, according to Google NGrams. About half as common since 1920. After 2000, downward has become almost as common as downwards in the NGrams Brit. Eng. corpus, where c. 1880 it was one quarter as common.

• downward, down

• upwards, up

downwards (comparative more downwards, superlative most downwards)

1. Downward.

• Much less common than downward as an adjective, but gaining in usage in Brit. Eng..

• downward — see downward

• downdraws, drawdowns