plural downers
1
: a depressant drug
especially : barbiturate
… would often take the stage stoned on downers or high on acid … —
Peter Keough
Peter Keough
Suppressant drugs, referred to as "downers", help create feelings of relaxation and tiredness rather than the high that people get from taking "uppers" … —Izzy Lyons
Izzy Lyons
2
: someone or something depressing, disagreeable, or unsatisfactory
Rain, biting insects, and soggy ground are other downers that keep me under cover.—Norman Strung
Norman Strung
Losing in their conference tournaments was a major downer for the NC State and East Carolina baseball teams.—Brett Friedlander
Brett Friedlander
3
: a weak, sick, or lame domesticated animal (such as a cow or pig) that is down and cannot get up
—often used before another noun
… the USDA last week instituted a series of measures to reassure consumers that American beef is safe, including a ban on the slaughter of cattle too sick or injured to walk, called downers, for human food.—Cathy Booth Thomas
Cathy Booth Thomas
a downer cow
Examples of downer in a Sentence
I took some downers to help me sleep. “His cat just died.” “Oh, that's a real downer.” Our conversation about death was a bit of a downer.
Recent Examples on the Web
Upper’s a downer But Blue Origin could not celebrate the achievement for long. —Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 19 Apr. 2026 Fortunately, Sanctions balances its downer tendencies with moments of levity and peculiar arrangements that only Souled American could have concocted. —Zach Schonfeld, Pitchfork, 17 Apr. 2026 What’s good for United could be a downer for travelers, and traditionally, anything that shrinks the list of rivals linking the same two metros from a longer roster to just one or two raises red flags for regulators. —Shawn Tully, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2026 That's a downer for the vloggers and selfie fans, but not a serious drawback for photography and videography shot from behind the camera. —Jim Fisher, PC Magazine, 6 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for downer
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 19 Apr. 2026 Fortunately, Sanctions balances its downer tendencies with moments of levity and peculiar arrangements that only Souled American could have concocted. —Zach Schonfeld, Pitchfork, 17 Apr. 2026 What’s good for United could be a downer for travelers, and traditionally, anything that shrinks the list of rivals linking the same two metros from a longer roster to just one or two raises red flags for regulators. —Shawn Tully, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2026 That's a downer for the vloggers and selfie fans, but not a serious drawback for photography and videography shot from behind the camera. —Jim Fisher, PC Magazine, 6 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for downer
Cite this Entry
“Downer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/dictionary/downer. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
downer
noun
down·er ˈdau̇n-ər 
1
: a depressant drug
especially : barbiturate
2
: something that is depressing, disagreeable, or unsatisfactory
Medical Definition
downer
noun
down·er ˈdau̇-nər
: a depressant drug
especially : barbiturate
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
