down·grade
ˈdau̇n-ˌgrād 
1
: a downward grade (as of a road)
2
: a descent toward an inferior state
a career on the downgrade
downgraded; downgrading; downgrades
Synonyms
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
Sagarika Jaisinghani, Fortune, 10 Apr. 2024
Whether the next leader of the Senate’s Republicans ought to be John Barrasso, John Thune, or John Cornyn will be answered in due course, but, whatever happens, the transition will likely represent a downgrade.
—Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 29 Feb. 2024
Shares of New York Community Bancorp tumbled 17% in after-hours trading Tuesday evening after the downgrade.
—Matt Egan, CNN, 6 Feb. 2024
Last year, the studio’s credit rating was lowered from BBB to BBB- and additional downgrades were possible as S&P Global started to weigh cash flow along with leverage metrics when measuring Paramount’s debt worthiness.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Mar. 2024
Here's how much snow has fallen in 2024 so far Report: 1 in 17 Scottsdale, Arizona residents is a millionaire
Financial implications, and credit downgrades, materialize
While UA’s leadership defends the acquisition, UA employees continue to ask hard questions.
—Hannah Dreyfus, The Arizona Republic, 27 Mar. 2024
That was actually a slight downgrade from the group’s 2017 downgrade.
—Sophie Hills, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Mar. 2024
Moody's said in its credit downgrade report that those types of buildings are facing challenges from higher interest expenses when refinancing and higher maintenance costs as a result of inflation.
—Detroit Free Press, 23 Feb. 2024
And earlier this month, Moody’s delivered Israel’s first ever credit rating downgrade, citing elevated political risk and a deterioration in public finances stemming from the war.
—Hanna Ziady, CNN, 19 Feb. 2024
Timothy H.j. Nerozzi Fox News, Fox News, 12 Apr. 2024
Related article Fitch downgrades China’s outlook over economic worries
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, President Joe Biden’s point person on the economy, focused on China’s troubling overcapacity during a high-profile visit to China this week.
—Matt Egan, CNN, 11 Apr. 2024
Having access to photos in their original resolution is also a great call given that apps like WhatsApp can downgrade photo resolution.
—Jody Serrano / Gizmodo, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
He was added to the injury report after missing Tuesday’s morning shootaround, initially being listed as probable at the start of the day before being downgraded to questionable and then eventually being ruled out a few hours prior to tipoff.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 26 Mar. 2024
Jeep customers reported that repairs weren't done right the first time, and Kia customers downgraded their experience based on poor communication, according to the survey.
—USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2024
Any affected users should immediately downgrade their XZ Utils version.
—Michael Kan, PCMAG, 1 Apr. 2024
On Monday, delegations from Romania, Slovakia and Finland presented a proposal to the EU Environment Council, asking for the protection status of some brown bear populations to be downgraded.
—Billy Stockwell, CNN, 30 Mar. 2024
The plan ended up being downgraded into a less ambitious scheme consisting of smaller changes, like removing car parking and building cycle lanes to try to lower the number of vehicles.
—Andrew Kersley, WIRED, 19 Mar. 2024
Noun
And earnings upgrades from analysts have outnumbered downgrades in the first quarter, according to a Citigroup Inc. index.
—Sagarika Jaisinghani, Fortune, 10 Apr. 2024
Whether the next leader of the Senate’s Republicans ought to be John Barrasso, John Thune, or John Cornyn will be answered in due course, but, whatever happens, the transition will likely represent a downgrade.
—Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 29 Feb. 2024
Shares of New York Community Bancorp tumbled 17% in after-hours trading Tuesday evening after the downgrade.
—Matt Egan, CNN, 6 Feb. 2024
Last year, the studio’s credit rating was lowered from BBB to BBB- and additional downgrades were possible as S&P Global started to weigh cash flow along with leverage metrics when measuring Paramount’s debt worthiness.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Mar. 2024
Here's how much snow has fallen in 2024 so far Report: 1 in 17 Scottsdale, Arizona residents is a millionaire
Financial implications, and credit downgrades, materialize
While UA’s leadership defends the acquisition, UA employees continue to ask hard questions.
—Hannah Dreyfus, The Arizona Republic, 27 Mar. 2024
That was actually a slight downgrade from the group’s 2017 downgrade.
—Sophie Hills, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Mar. 2024
Moody's said in its credit downgrade report that those types of buildings are facing challenges from higher interest expenses when refinancing and higher maintenance costs as a result of inflation.
—Detroit Free Press, 23 Feb. 2024
And earlier this month, Moody’s delivered Israel’s first ever credit rating downgrade, citing elevated political risk and a deterioration in public finances stemming from the war.
—Hanna Ziady, CNN, 19 Feb. 2024
Verb
The highest charge was later downgraded to second-degree murder.
—Timothy H.j. Nerozzi Fox News, Fox News, 12 Apr. 2024
Related article Fitch downgrades China’s outlook over economic worries
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, President Joe Biden’s point person on the economy, focused on China’s troubling overcapacity during a high-profile visit to China this week.
—Matt Egan, CNN, 11 Apr. 2024
Having access to photos in their original resolution is also a great call given that apps like WhatsApp can downgrade photo resolution.
—Jody Serrano / Gizmodo, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
He was added to the injury report after missing Tuesday’s morning shootaround, initially being listed as probable at the start of the day before being downgraded to questionable and then eventually being ruled out a few hours prior to tipoff.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 26 Mar. 2024
Jeep customers reported that repairs weren't done right the first time, and Kia customers downgraded their experience based on poor communication, according to the survey.
—USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2024
Any affected users should immediately downgrade their XZ Utils version.
—Michael Kan, PCMAG, 1 Apr. 2024
On Monday, delegations from Romania, Slovakia and Finland presented a proposal to the EU Environment Council, asking for the protection status of some brown bear populations to be downgraded.
—Billy Stockwell, CNN, 30 Mar. 2024
The plan ended up being downgraded into a less ambitious scheme consisting of smaller changes, like removing car parking and building cycle lanes to try to lower the number of vehicles.
—Andrew Kersley, WIRED, 19 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'downgrade.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near downgrade
Cite this Entry
“Downgrade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/downgrade. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
downgrade
1 of 2 noun
down·grade
-ˌgrād
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
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