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
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
Moody's based its downgrade primarily on the assessment that the ongoing military conflict with Hamas and its consequences significantly elevate Israel's political risk and weaken its legislative, executive and fiscal authority.
—Forbes International, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024
The recent pullback has been aided by a downgrade from Barclays analysts, who this week put a bearish tag on the shares.
—WSJ, 4 Jan. 2024
The downgrade was a manifestation of deeper investor unease with the company’s prospects.
—Byalexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 3 Jan. 2024
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
And Wells Fargo has downgraded Tesla stock to underweight, with a price target of $125, down from $200.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 18 Mar. 2024
The dispute was brought by five social media users and two states, Louisiana and Missouri, who claimed their speech was stifled when platforms removed or downgraded their posts after strong-arming by officials in the White House, Centers for Disease Control, FBI and Department of Homeland Security.
—Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 16 Mar. 2024
This led Fitch to downgrade the bank’s debt on Feb. 2 to BBB-, while on Feb. 6, Moody’s Investors Service cut its rating on NYCB debt to junk.
—Luisa Beltran, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2024
Altogether, 28 restaurants were downgraded this year including another notable dining room, Auberge du Cheval Blanc in Lembach, Haut-Rhin, which dropped to one star from two.
—Tara Patel, Fortune Europe, 19 Mar. 2024
Brought by five social media users and two states, Louisiana and Missouri, their challenge claimed their speech was stifled when platforms removed or downgraded their posts after strong-arming by officials in the White House, Centers for Disease Control, FBI and Department of Homeland Security.
—Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 18 Mar. 2024
Noun
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
Moody's based its downgrade primarily on the assessment that the ongoing military conflict with Hamas and its consequences significantly elevate Israel's political risk and weaken its legislative, executive and fiscal authority.
—Forbes International, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024
The recent pullback has been aided by a downgrade from Barclays analysts, who this week put a bearish tag on the shares.
—WSJ, 4 Jan. 2024
The downgrade was a manifestation of deeper investor unease with the company’s prospects.
—Byalexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 3 Jan. 2024
Verb
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
And Wells Fargo has downgraded Tesla stock to underweight, with a price target of $125, down from $200.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 18 Mar. 2024
The dispute was brought by five social media users and two states, Louisiana and Missouri, who claimed their speech was stifled when platforms removed or downgraded their posts after strong-arming by officials in the White House, Centers for Disease Control, FBI and Department of Homeland Security.
—Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 16 Mar. 2024
This led Fitch to downgrade the bank’s debt on Feb. 2 to BBB-, while on Feb. 6, Moody’s Investors Service cut its rating on NYCB debt to junk.
—Luisa Beltran, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2024
Altogether, 28 restaurants were downgraded this year including another notable dining room, Auberge du Cheval Blanc in Lembach, Haut-Rhin, which dropped to one star from two.
—Tara Patel, Fortune Europe, 19 Mar. 2024
Brought by five social media users and two states, Louisiana and Missouri, their challenge claimed their speech was stifled when platforms removed or downgraded their posts after strong-arming by officials in the White House, Centers for Disease Control, FBI and Department of Homeland Security.
—Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 18 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 16 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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