downgrade

1 of 2

noun

down·​grade ˈdau̇n-ˌgrād How to pronounce downgrade (audio)
1
: a downward grade (as of a road)
2
: a descent toward an inferior state
a career on the downgrade

downgrade

2 of 2

verb

downgraded; downgrading; downgrades

transitive verb

1
: to lower in quality, value, status, or extent
2

Examples of downgrade in a Sentence

Noun a downgrade in the company's stock prices a singing career on the downgrade Verb The restaurant was downgraded from three to two stars. She didn't intend to downgrade the importance of her colleague's work.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Noun
Tech stocks rallied Tuesday, although the sector was brought down by Apple, which saw its shares tumble after a few analyst downgrades. Julie Coleman, CNBC, 22 Jan. 2025 Apple’s stock price fell 4.4% on the news and prompted analyst downgrades, according to TipRanks. Peter Cohan, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
Verb
While areas near the Laguna Fire were under evacuation orders, they've since been downgraded to evacuation warnings. Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 24 Jan. 2025 By midday Thursday, the evacuation order had been downgraded to a warning. Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for downgrade 

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1847, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1892, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of downgrade was in 1847

Dictionary Entries Near downgrade

Cite this Entry

“Downgrade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/downgrade. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

Kids Definition

downgrade

1 of 2 noun
down·​grade -ˌgrād How to pronounce downgrade (audio)
1
: a downward slope
2
: a lowering toward a worse condition
a neighborhood on the downgrade
downgrade adverb

downgrade

2 of 2 verb
: to lower in grade, rank, or standing

More from Merriam-Webster on downgrade

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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