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Glite Dictionary
to have down

to have down

1 4.1
Know how to do something so well you can do it without thinking
  • phrasal verb
  • /hæv daʊn/
translation icon : dominar
  • With enough study, you can have the vocabulary for the exam down perfectly.

Examples

  • What else do you have down here?

    Unbelievable!!!!! (2020)

  • He finally has the presentation down, making it easy to deliver.

  • This is something that I really thought I had down earlier in the year, but fell off the wagon and never got back on.

    Blog text (34)

  • After weeks of practice, she really has the dance routine down now.

Synonyms

to know
vsto have down
∞ 1.0

To have the skill to do something

means having mastered it so you do it easily and accurately
to memorize
vsto have down
175 2.3

Learn something so you can remember it exactly

means mastering it for easy accurate performance not only recall

Antonyms

to forget
∞ 1.0

Not remember something you should remember

to struggle
851 2.8

To try very hard to do or deal with something difficult

How Well

to master
191 4.1
to have down
1 4.1
to understand
∞ 1.0
to know
∞ 1.0
to recognize
  • US
∞ 1.4

Surface Forms

have down infinitive
had down past
had down past participle
having down present participle
has down third person singular

Morphology

have + down

The meaning 'to have mastered' arises from the phrasal/resultative pattern 'have (something) down' where 'down' signals completeness or mastery; this is a metaphorical extension of the directional/adverbial meaning of 'down' rather than a straightforward compositional meaning. A B1 learner who only knows the basic senses of 'have' and 'down' is unlikely to fully predict this specific idiomatic use without exposure, although the possessive + resultative pattern is somewhat inferable (and exists in some other languages), so the expression is only partly transparent.

Etymology

Have down comes from the simple image of fixing something down so it cannot move, like nailing a loose board. When a skill or fact is fixed in your mind this way, you 'have it down', so the phrase means 'mastered' or 'learned well'.