downstream
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.located or moving in the direction that a river or stream flows.
adj.situated or moving in the direction of the current of a stream or river.
Simple“The downstream bridge was damaged during the heavy spring floods.”
In context“The downstream communities reported significantly higher levels of silt after the construction of the new dam began.”
Usageusually placed before the noun
SynonymsdownriverAntonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
adv.moving towards the mouth of a river, following the water.
adv.in the direction of a stream's current.
Simple“We floated downstream for three hours until we reached the lake.”
In context“The pollutants were carried downstream, affecting the delicate ecosystem of the estuary miles away from the factory.”
Usagetypically follows the verb
SynonymsdownriverAntonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
adj.happening later in a process or as a result of something else.
adj.occurring at a later stage in a sequence of events or as a consequence of a prior action.
Simple“The factory closure had many downstream effects on local shops.”
In context“The policy change created several downstream complications that the committee had failed to anticipate during the initial planning phase.”
Usagefrequently used in business and science to describe results
SynonymsAntonyms - 04 C2 Proficiency
v.to send a software update or fix to the people who use the program.
v.to provide a version or patch to subsequent developers or end-users in a software distribution chain.
Simple“The developers will downstream the security patch to all users tomorrow.”
In context“Once the core vulnerabilities were addressed, the team worked to downstream the fixes to the various regional branches of the project.”
Usagetransitive verb requiring a direct object
Synonyms
“Downstream of the turbines, strong variations in air movement enhance the exchange between different layers of the atmosphere.”
“But they may reach levels at which no water beyond what’s required to generate power – or what arrives as rain or snow – would flow downstream.”
From down- + stream.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.