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downshift. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
downshift, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
downshift in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
downshift you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
The noun is derived from down (preposition) + shift (“slight change or movement”).[1] The verb is derived from the noun.[2]
Pronunciation
Noun
downshift (plural downshifts) (chiefly Canada, US)
- A change of direction or a movement downwards.
- A reduction in quality or quantity.
- A change in career or lifestyle to one which is not as well paid but less stressful and more personally rewarding.
- (automotive, cycling) A shift of a transmission into a lower gear, as dictated by heavier load on the engine, as for example when climbing a hill or strongly accelerating.
- Hyponym: kickdown
2000, Bob Foster, Birdum or Bust!, Henley Beach, SA: Seaview Press, page 197:The driver, Lindsay, gave me a regal wave at the top after he had completed a series of perfect downshifts[.]
Translations
change of direction or a movement downwards
reduction in quality or quantity
change in career or lifestyle to one which is not as well paid but less stressful and more personally rewarding
shift of a transmission into a lower gear
Verb
downshift (third-person singular simple present downshifts, present participle downshifting, simple past and past participle downshifted) (chiefly Canada, US)
- (transitive)
- To reduce (something) in quality or quantity (as effect, scope, speed, etc.)
- Synonym: attenuate
2019 August 14, A. A. Dowd, “Good Boys Puts a Tween Spin on the R-rated Teen Comedy, to Mostly Funny Effect”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 4 March 2021:But in this variation on Superbad's wild night of transgression, downshifting the age of the protagonists from teen to tween actually only enhances the stealth, wide-eyed innocence that secretly drives this genre of pre-college hedonism.
- To change (one's career or lifestyle) to one which is not as well paid but less stressful and more personally rewarding.
- (automotive, cycling) To shift (a car or bicycle) into a lower gear.
- (intransitive)
- To function at a lower rate; to slacken.
- To change one's career or lifestyle to one which is not as well paid but less stressful and more personally rewarding.
- (automotive, cycling) To shift a transmission into a lower gear.
- Antonym: upshift
In a stick-shift vehicle, the driver must downshift when necessary; in an automatic, the transmission downshifts as needed.
Derived terms
Translations
to reduce (something) in quality or quantity
to change (one’s career or lifestyle) to one which is not as well paid but less stressful and more personally rewarding
to shift (a car or bicycle) into a lower gear
to function at a lower rate
— see slacken
to change one’s career or lifestyle to one which is not as well paid but less stressful and more personally rewarding
to shift the transmission of a car or bicycle into a lower gear
References
- ^ “downshift, n.”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2022; “downshift, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- ^ “downshift, v.”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2022; “downshift, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
Further reading