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🚗 To change down ⚙️ A lower gear 🌱 To live simpler 📉 A slowdown 💼 A simpler job
to downshift

to downshift

3 3.9
To change to a lower gear in a car or bike to get more power
  • verb
  • /ˈdaʊnʃɪft/
translation icon : reducir de marcha
  • We downshift into third.
  • downshift to lower gear
  • the transmission downshifts
  • downshift while braking

Examples

  • We came to a hill, and Matt downshifted, gunning it over the rise.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • He downshifted and pulled off the road.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • I downshift right at the bottom of the hill and take it pretty easy.

    Blog text (16)

  • Come on, big man, let me hear you downshift.

    Larger Than Life (1996)

  • Max, downshift slowly and put it in reverse.

    Armageddon (1998)

  • When the red glows, it's time to downshift, or maybe to pull over to give the brakes time to cool down.

    Academic text (2002)

  • The driver starts furiously downshifting, trying to brake...

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Frank gave it a hard right onto Nebraska Avenue, downshifted the automatic to low coming out of the skid, and then brought it back up to drive.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • If you've ever been in a pack of roadies, you'd notice that everyone downshifts before a hill and slows down.

    Blog text (16)

  • As we approached the steep hill, he decided to downshift to second gear to maintain control and speed.

Synonyms

to shift
vsto downshift
39 2.3

Change gear in a vehicle, usually while driving

is used to choose a lower gear to slow or increase engine power

Antonyms

upshift
1 5.6

The change to a higher gear in a vehicle to go faster or save fuel

How Fast

to ease off
9 4.0
to downshift
3 3.9
to slow down
687 1.4
to brake
23 1.0

Surface Forms

downshift infinitive
downshifted past
downshifted past participle
downshifting present participle
downshifts third person singular

Morphology

downshift = shift (transparent) = down + shift

The verb is the productive formation 'down' + 'shift' meaning to shift to a lower gear; this is a literal and regular particle-prefix verb.

Etymology

To downshift comes from down- 'lower' and shift 'move', as when you move the car's gear to a lower position. So to downshift is to change to a lower gear to slow down or gain more engine power.