go down
Related to go down: go down on someone, go down on him, go down on her
go down
1. To lower, sink, or fall. We need to get home before the sun goes down! Police are still investigating the site where the private plane went down last night. Stocks in the company have gone down for the third straight week in a row.
2. To occur, happen, or unfold, as of an event or action. We need to figure out what went down here before we can press any charges.
3. To be accepted, tolerated, or acknowledged. I don't think my business proposal went down too well with the board members. How do you think the news will go down with your parents?
4. vulgar slang To perform oral sex.
See also: down, go
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
go down (in history) (as someone or something)
to be recorded for history as a significant person or event. You will go down in history as the most stubborn woman who ever lived. She will go down as a very famous woman.
See also: down, go
go down something
to descend something; to fall down something. She went down the ladder very carefully. I did not want to go down those steep stairs.
See also: down, go
go down
1. to sink below a normal or expected level or height. The plane went down in flames. Theship went down with all hands aboard.
2. . to descend to a lower measurement. Herfever wentdown. The price of the stock went down yesterday.
3. . to be swallowed. The medicine went down without any trouble at all. The pilll took simply would not go down.
4. . to fall or drop down, as when struck or injured. Sam went down when he was struck on the chin. The deer went down when it was hit with the arrow.
5. . Sl. to happen. Hey, man! What's going down? Something strange is going down around here.
6. . Sl. to be accepted. We'll just have to wait awhile to see how all this goes down. The proposal didn't go down very well with the manager.
7. . Sl. to be arrested. (Underworld.) Lefty didn't want to go down for a crime he didn't do. Mr. Big said that somebody had to go down for it, and he didn't care who.
See also: down, go
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
go down
1. Descend to a lower level; drop below the horizon, fall to the ground, or sink. For example, Don't let the baby go down the stairs alone, or The sun went down behind the hill, or I was afraid the plane would go down, or The ship went down and all hands were lost. [c. 1300]
2. Experience defeat or ruin, as in They went down fighting, or The boxer went down in the first round. [Late 1500s]
3. Decrease, subside, as in After Christmas prices will go down, or As soon as the swelling goes down it won't hurt as much. [Second half of 1600s]
4. Be swallowed, as in This huge pill just won't go down, or Your wine goes down very smoothly. [Second half of 1500s]
5. Be accepted or believed, as in How did your speech at the convention go down? When it takes an object, it is put as go down with, as in It's hardly the truth but it still goes down with many voters. [c. 1600]
6. Also, go down in history. Be recorded or remembered, as in This event must go down in her book as one of the highlights of the year, or This debate will go down in history. [Late 1800s]
7. Occur, take place, as in Really crazy behavior was going down in the sixties. [Slang; mid-1900s] Also see come down, def. 4.
8. Be sent to prison, as in He went down for a five-year term. [Slang; c. 1900]
9. In the game of bridge, fail to fulfill one's contract (that is, take fewer than the required number of tricks), as in We had bid four hearts and the bad distribution made us go down. [Early 1900s] Also see the subsequent idioms beginning with go down.
See also: down, go
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
go down
v.
1. To proceed along some path: We went down the street.
2. To descend something: Let's go down the stairs rather than taking the elevator. Go down and see if they need any help in the kitchen. I went down to the cellar to fetch a bottle of wine.
3. go down to To reach or extend to some lower point: This path goes down to the bottom of the canyon. The thermometer goes down to -15 degrees.
4. To fall to the ground; plummet: The helicopter went down when the rotor malfunctioned. The boxer went down in the fourth round.
5. To sink: The ship went down in the storm, but the crew survived.
6. To travel south: I go down to the tropics every winter. I went down and visited my family in Mexico.
7. To go to a city or town center, or some central location: We went down to the park to meet our friends. My friend got arrested, so I went down and bailed him out.
8. To drop toward or below the horizon; set. Used especially of the sun and moon: The crickets began to chirp after the sun went down.
9. To experience defeat or ruin: The company went down after the stock market crashed.
10. To fail to operate; break down: The computers went down due to a software problem.
11. To permit swallowing: This cough syrup goes down readily.
12. To diminish in intensity or volume: The lights went down and the movie began. Put some ice on your injured elbow to help the swelling go down. When they returned to their car, they saw that the tires had gone down.
13. To decrease in value: Bond prices often go up as stocks go down. Last night, the temperature went down to 10 degrees.
14. To occur; happen. Used especially of interesting or important events: When the police officers saw the limousines arrive at the mobster's hideout, they knew something big was going down.
15. To be accepted or tolerated: My announcement that the show would be canceled did not go down well with the audience.
16. To come to be remembered in posterity: This remarkable debate will go down as a turning point in the campaign. The day we signed the treaty will go down in history.
17. Vulgar Slang go down on To perform oral sex on someone.
See also: down, go
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
go down
1. in. to happen; [for a process or sequence] to unfold. Something strange is going down around here.
2. in. to be accepted. (see also swallow.) We’ll just have to wait a while to see how all this goes down.
3. in. to be arrested. (Underworld.) Mr. Gutman said that somebody had to go down for it, and he didn’t care who.
See also: down, go
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
- come a gutser
- be down to (one)
- be down to somebody/something
- be down to something
- be down to (do something)
- come a cropper
- come a-cropper
- bounce up and down
- come down in buckets
- climb down