Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to remain down

to remain down

8.1
To stay on the ground while the referee counts to ten and lose the match
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : quedarse en el suelo
  • He decided to remain down instead of getting back up when he realized he had been knocked out.

Examples

  • During the eighth round, the champion chose to remain down while the referee counted, knowing he could not recover in time.

  • It was too dangerous for them to remain down here any longer.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Tied at zero midway through the first quarter, Mauti remained down on the field after a four-yard run from Indiana linebacker Isaiah Roundtree.

    Blog text (30)

  • After being knocked to the canvas, the boxer chose to remain down and wait for the referee's count.

Synonyms

to count out
vsto remain down
  • Specialized
1 6.6

To count to ten to say a boxer has lost when they cannot get up

describes the boxer staying down instead of rising before the ten count
to take the count
vsto remain down
  • Specialized
8.8

To stay on the floor while the referee counts to ten and lose the fight

has the same meaning but is expressed with different wording
to knock down for the count
vsto remain down
  • Informal
8.2

To be hit so hard that you fall and cannot get up

applies to staying on the ground until the referee's ten count causes loss
KO'd
vsto remain down
  • Informal
9.6

Unconscious after a strong hit in a fight or boxing match

results from staying on the ground through the referee's ten count leading to defeat

Antonyms

to get up
695 1.0

To stand up from sitting or lying down

How Defeated

knocked out
29 4.6
to count out
  • Specialized
1 6.6
to remain down
8.1
to knock down
93 3.0

Surface Forms

remain down infinitive
remained down past
remained down past participle
remaining down present participle
remains down third person singular

Morphology

remain + down

The meaning 'to stay on the ground' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'remain' (to stay) with 'down' (in a lower/lying position). Although the phrase has a boxing-specific consequence (being counted out), the core spatial/compositional sense is predictable from the constituents and therefore understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

Remain down comes from boxing: when a fighter is knocked down, he may choose to remain down while the referee counts to ten. That's why it means 'stay on the ground' and 'be counted out'.