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to bring down

to bring down

15 3.3
Move something or someone from a higher to a lower place, for example land an aircraft
  • phrasal verb
  • /brɪŋ daʊn/
translation icon : bajar (objetos/personas)
  • And as in a crowded forest, a single falling tree can bring down far too many others.

We take them up to his farm and then we bring down the vegetables.

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Examples

Synonyms

to land
vsto bring down
1.0

To come down and rest on a surface

adds the broader sense of moving any object down, not only landing actions
to lower
vsto bring down
802 1.0

Make something go down in position, amount, or strength

focuses narrowly on physical lowering rather than also meaning landing
to let down
vsto bring down
180 2.0

Move something slowly from a higher to a lower position

is more general, including careful and forceful ways of moving down
to down
vsto bring down
51 5.5

Cause someone or something to fall and be defeated

is wider and can be nonviolent, also meaning a safe lowering or aircraft landing
to touch down
vsto bring down
45 3.6

To land on the ground after a flight

is broader, including regular controlled landings and non-flight lowering
to get down
vsto bring down
44 1.6

To move something from a high place to a lower place

also covers landing an aircraft, a more specific technical use
to take down
vsto bring down
39 1.8

To move something from a high place to a lower place

also includes the specific action of landing aircraft rather than just moving down
to put down
vsto bring down
  • Specialized
28 5.8

To land a plane in an emergency

is the common term that includes normal and emergency landing plus moving down
to push down
vsto bring down
16 2.0

Make something move down by using force

covers this forceful move but also other ways to bring items down
to set down
vsto bring down
9 3.6

To land on the ground or another surface

focuses more widely on lowering objects or people as well as landing
to land the plane
vsto bring down
  • Specialized
8 3.5

To bring a plane down safely at an airport

covers both general moving down and this specific landing meaning
to pull down
vsto bring down
5 3.2

To bring something or someone down from a higher place

includes forceful and nonforceful lowering and also landing meanings

Antonyms

478 1.9

To leave the ground and begin to fly

How Low

crash
2.3
to bring down
15 3.3
to lower
802 1.0
to land
1.0

Surface Forms

bring down infinitive
bringing down present participle
brings down third person singular
brought down past participle

Morphology

bring + down

The sense 'to elicit enthusiastic applause' cannot be derived from the literal meanings of 'bring' (to cause or convey) and 'down' (to lower or defeat); those constituents normally indicate reduction, movement, or defeat rather than approval. This meaning arises idiomatically in the phrase 'bring down the house' and is culturally specific, so a B1 learner who knows the words but has not encountered the idiom would not predict this sense.

Etymology

Bring down has a literal image: to carry or guide something from higher to lower ground—like landing a plane or bringing a box down a stair—so it means 'to move something or someone to a lower place'.