downhill

B1 Topic:Space, Position & Direction

adv /ˌdaʊnˈhɪl/ adj /ˈdaʊnˌhɪl/ noun /ˈdaʊnˌhɪl/ See IPA manual

Freq #11053

Meanings

1

adv
toward the bottom of a hill or slope

The road ran steeply downhill toward the village.
2

adv
toward a worse or less successful condition

After its main customer left, the business went downhill quickly.
3

adj
sloping or moving toward lower ground

The cyclists gathered speed on the downhill stretch.
4

noun
a downhill skiing race or course

She won the downhill by more than half a second.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · toward the bottom of a hill... downwarddownslope

2 adv · toward a worse or less... deteriorating declining

3 adj · sloping or moving toward... descendingdownward-sloping

4 noun · a downhill skiing race or... downhill race

Opposites

uphill

Word family

Derived forms downhiller

Related forms hill slope skiing

Etymology

A transparent compound of down + hill, recorded from Middle English in directional use. The figurative sense transfers physical descent to a decline in quality, success, or condition. The skiing noun is shortened from downhill race.

Topics

Space, Position & Direction

External links

# downhill

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adv, adj, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˌdaʊnˈhɪl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌdaʊnˈhɪl/
**Frequency rank:** 11053

## Meanings
1. toward the bottom of a hill or slope
2. toward a worse or less successful condition
3. sloping or moving toward lower ground
4. a downhill skiing race or course

## Examples
- The road ran steeply downhill toward the village.
- After its main customer left, the business went downhill quickly.
- The cyclists gathered speed on the downhill stretch.
- She won the downhill by more than half a second.

## Synonyms
- downward
- downslope
- descending

## Antonyms
- uphill

## Derived Forms
- downhiller

## Related Forms
- hill
- slope
- skiing

## Etymology
A transparent compound of down + hill, recorded from Middle English in directional use. The figurative sense transfers physical descent to a decline in quality, success, or condition. The skiing noun is shortened from downhill race.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction

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