😞 To disappoint ⬇️ To lower carefully

to let down

38 2.0

Move something slowly from a higher to a lower position

phrasal verb
/lɛt daʊn/

: bajar

Please be careful when you let down the baby from your arms.

The first bead I let down is already curing.

Autoplay Next

Examples

He decided to let down the ladder slowly to avoid any accidents.
After holding the balloon for a while, she gently let down the balloon to the ground.
Last thing I wanna do is let you down.

Heat (1995)
We are not going to let them down.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
You see, George, those men know that I would never let them down.

Paths of Glory (1957)
Felt like I'd let her down.

Last Breath (2025)
She told me that I let her down.

About Cherry (2012)
I won't let you down.

Unfavorable Odds (2022)
So naturally, I don't want to let them down.

Cinderella Man (2005)
MATT RUTLEDGE: I let them down 'cause I never told them what happened.

Sister, Sister (1987)

Synonyms

to put down

vsto let down

∞ 1.0

To lower something from your hands onto a surface

is done carefully rather than merely placing it briefly

to lower

vsto let down

408 1.0

Make something go down in position, amount, or strength

focuses on careful physical lowering rather than general reduction

to take down

vsto let down

294 1.8

To move something from a high place to a lower place

is performed carefully rather than without special care

to bring down

vsto let down

267 3.3

Move something or someone from a higher to a lower place, for example land an aircraft

is done carefully rather than by forceful action or impact

to pull down

vsto let down

149 3.2

To bring something or someone down from a higher place

is performed carefully rather than by using strong force

to push down

vsto let down

106 2.0

Make something move down by using force

is carried out carefully rather than by pushing with force

to drag down

vsto let down

98 4.0

To pull something down by weight or force

is executed carefully rather than by heavy, forceful movement

to get down

vsto let down

84 1.6

To move something from a high place to a lower place

is done carefully rather than simply moving it to a lower place

to dip

vsto let down

59 2.7

To move down at an angle

is performed carefully rather than being a brief or natural slope

Antonyms

to elevate

122 3.9

To move something to a higher place or level

How Carefully

to let down

38 2.0

to lower

408 1.0

to drop

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

let down infinitive

let down past

let down past participle

letting down present participle

lets down third person singular

Morphology

let + down

The meaning 'to lower something carefully' is directly derivable from combining 'let' (allow) with 'down' (to a lower position); this is a transparent compositional particle-verb construction that follows standard English patterns. Such literal motion/position senses are cross-linguistically common and would be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

Let down comes from the plain action of releasing to make something go lower: you let a rope, curtain, or blind and it moves down. That's why it means 'to move something from a higher to a lower position carefully'.