Find the word definition

Crossword clues for descend

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
descend
verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
ascending/descending order (=with the lowest or highest number first)
▪ The films are ranked in ascending order of profitability.
descend a ladderformal (= climb down)
▪ He closed the hatch and descended the ladder.
descend/slip into chaos (=gradually become completely confused and disorganized)
▪ After the invasion, the country lapsed into chaos.
silence falls/descends (=a silence begins)
▪ A sudden silence fell over the room.
slide/fall/descend into anarchy
▪ The nation is in danger of falling into anarchy.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
again
▪ Then they descended again to the concourse.
▪ By the time the group reached Brescia, the clouds had descended again, and the factory was rather gloomy inside.
▪ The Dark Times were again descending over the universe.
▪ Marie-Angéle met her, deflected her; they spoke, and Madame turned to descend again.
directly
▪ The pod appeared to be descending directly towards a winding ribbon of water.
▪ The Yellowstone herd, which is directly descended from those last surviving bison, is of particular spiritual importance to those tribes.
▪ At the bottom, the spiral staircase descends directly into area 70.
on
▪ When the world descended on Sydney last month it was with trepidation.
▪ Long before night fell, serious parade lovers were descending on downtown to get a good seat.
▪ Maura had seen the hammer descend on to the cartridge just as she heard Roy's voice come from the house.
slowly
▪ Reaching out for the banister rail, he switched on the torch and slowly descended the stairs.
▪ As the land sank toward An Khe, I reduced the collective and let the ship descend slowly.
▪ As Discovery curved still closer toward Saturn, the Sun slowly descended toward the multiple arches of the rings.
then
▪ The path then descends to the Pass of Ryvoan and from here back to the Glenmore car park.
▪ She saw Alexei, paused and smiled, and then descended the few steps and came towards him.
▪ She straightened the skirt that Thérèse had lent her, dusted it with both hands, then descended the stairs.
▪ Path rises for ¼ mile then descends into valley. 3 Cross stream by easy natural stepping-stones as soon as it is reached.
▪ The old road then descends to join the new.
▪ She could then descend upon the Grand Hotel to take tea.
▪ The command module would then descend to the sea on its parachutes.
to
▪ But what will not ambition and revenge Descend to?
▪ Elsewhere, local authority treatment could descend to little more than fashionable mediocrity.
▪ It seemed a poor thing to have descended to.
▪ You have three minutes to descend to below the ceiling before the Solution goes into error mode.
■ NOUN
ancestor
▪ Man appears to be descended from patrilineal ancestors.
▪ All plants and animals are, with hindsight, the same because they all descend from an ancestor three billion years old.
▪ All these breeds descend from some wild ancestor.
earth
▪ Ba'al was thought to have descended into the earth and the sacrifices and energy invigorated him and brought about his resurrection.
▪ Every year buildings and streets descend deeper into the earth, four inches in some neighborhoods, one foot in others.
▪ The victim settles horizontally, floating downwind as it waddles side to side, then gently descends to the earth.
▪ Swore like a trooper, drank like a pagan, smoked like a bomber descending to earth.
foot
▪ I descended to 500 feet, then continued descending with a Rate 1 on to final and continued the descent to 100 feet.
▪ A Hiller in autorotation descends at 1700 feet per minute.
▪ Vertical pitches descend 250 feet to an immense cavern, second in dimensions only to the chamber in Gaping Gill.
▪ I avoided the mob on the path by descending 200 feet sledging on my rucksack on a long snow bank.
ground
▪ It is an earthwork which appears to descend into the ground and is partially buried in the soil.
▪ I descended to the ground floor, passing a man in his mid-sixties, clutching a twenty-dollar bill.
▪ Behind him, the lift shuddered and began to descend to the ground floor.
▪ Flying over Normandy he descended to ground level to escape the fog and to find his bearings.
heaven
▪ A turbulent black cloud like a rumpled sheet seemed to descend from heaven.
level
▪ However, it is important that we do not descend to their level.
▪ But soon after that he descended to an unreachable level.
▪ If I use violence I descend to his level.
▪ Otherwise nothing useful will be achieved and, instead of debate, we shall descend to the level of vulgar slanging matches.
mountain
▪ Venables broke both legs in a 90m fall while descending the mountain after the first ascent.
order
▪ The list will be presented in descending numerical order of identifier.
▪ The table is now sorted in descending order according to the Amount field, as shown in figure 11. 5.
▪ The groups were themselves divided, in descending order, into offices, divisions, and branches.
▪ We also want this table sorted by the amount that the clients owe in descending order.
▪ This is also a list in descending order of color from orange-red to pale pink.
path
▪ The path then descends to the Pass of Ryvoan and from here back to the Glenmore car park.
▪ The path descends to run by the Allt Coire Ardair.
▪ I avoided the mob on the path by descending 200 feet sledging on my rucksack on a long snow bank.
▪ Turn right, with a steep drop on the left where the path descends towards the Upper Neuadd reservoir.
▪ From here the path descends to the top of Summerhouse Crag which stands over the Llugwy Gorge.
road
▪ The road descends the hill and passes along the garden fronts of the houses.
▪ Turn right here, and the road gradually descends to the little town of Appenzell.
▪ The old road then descends to join the new.
side
▪ As dawn began to lighten the sky they topped the rise of another mist-shrouded valley and began to descend the other side.
▪ When Stafford saw Cantor move slowly toward the right, he descended on the opposite side.
▪ From the summit the path then turns a little to the left to descend the other side of the hill towards Ryvoan bothy.
▪ They spent an hour descending one side of a large valley, only to take twice as long ascending the other side.
silence
▪ One might mention an object or a locality, and sepulchral silence would descend.
▪ And now the uproar that he had finally raised was dying away, and a gratifying silence was descending once again.
▪ Which rats left which ship. Silence was descending all over the city.
▪ He can make an event of a particular silence descending upon the river.
▪ He felt silence descend and press on him.
▪ It was in 1933 when the explosive din suddenly stopped and an eerie silence descended on Boulder Canyon.
▪ As the Archon entered, a silence descended over the gathered parliamentarians.
▪ A wall of silence has now descended over the key players.
slave
▪ He was descended from slaves who had accompanied their master, one Rafe Straker, from Long Island in 1783.
▪ One family has a Confederate cavalryman among its forebears, the other is descended from slaves.
stair
▪ I have a vivid memory of her descending the stairs to the conservatory where we said our vows.
▪ What do I do there in my rooms before I descend the stairs, return through the door, and wake?
▪ And she descended the stairs and, tapping lightly on the door, turned the handle and went in.
▪ The little orchestra was playing a minuet when she began to descend the sumptuously draped stairs.
▪ Slowly I descended the stairs and went out into the courtyard.
▪ As she descended the stairs, she appreciated for the first time how far she had fallen from grace.
▪ Instead, they get the splendor of descending the stairs to their official welcome.
staircase
▪ Ruth's legs were soon aching with climbing steps, only to turn and descend another staircase in the opposite direction.
▪ Falling asleep is like descending a staircase, with each stage of sleep becoming deeper than the previous one.
▪ She dried herself, wrapped the soft, fragrant robe around her slim body and cautiously descended the staircase.
▪ At seven-thirty Paige descended the grand sweeping staircase to the hall.
▪ He attempted to descend a steep staircase which had no handrail, whilst holding a small child by the hand.
■ VERB
begin
▪ The little orchestra was playing a minuet when she began to descend the sumptuously draped stairs.
▪ As dawn began to lighten the sky they topped the rise of another mist-shrouded valley and began to descend the other side.
▪ Behind him, the lift shuddered and began to descend to the ground floor.
▪ Delaney dropped to his belly and snake-like began to descend, head first, down the ladder.
▪ On shaking legs he began to descend.
▪ She reached the far side of the ridge and heard children's voices as she began to descend.
▪ He forced himself to bow politely, and then turned away and began to descend the stairs.
▪ As one tank approaches the top of the incline, the other begins to descend into the water at the lower level.
start
▪ But once he started descending, it was a different matter entirely.
▪ Lightheartedly, full of such deep contentment, I start to descend.
▪ That soon changed once the jet had started to descend into its approach and landing into Pulkovo Airport.
▪ She pushed the yoke forward and the plane's nose dipped as it started descending towards the runway.
▪ They start to descend the rivers, resting on the bottom during the day and travelling mostly at night.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
descend/sink to sb's level
▪ Betas must so live, learn, and work that we shall not sink to the cultural level of the Alphas.
▪ But soon after that he descended to an unreachable level.
▪ But whatever she is guilty of ... she can never sink to your level.
▪ Flying over Normandy he descended to ground level to escape the fog and to find his bearings.
▪ However, it is important that we do not descend to their level.
▪ If I use violence I descend to his level.
▪ In particular, coal stocks had sunk to a level below that at which distribution and use could operate efficiently.
▪ Otherwise nothing useful will be achieved and, instead of debate, we shall descend to the level of vulgar slanging matches.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Several climbers were descending the mountain.
▪ Slowly the two climbers descended the cliff face.
▪ The plane started to descend.
▪ We descended into the cave by a rope ladder.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ A Darkfall storm had descended on a factory in Leeds four years earlier.
▪ As you descend, you will slowly begin to feel the mystery and dankness of Carlsbad.
▪ Having finished, she descends a little way down the twig and then lays another batch.
▪ On shaking legs he began to descend.
▪ The cave descends almost vertically through a maze of boulders from a collapsed roof and is extremely wet and muddy.
▪ The reflex action at this point is to descend into cynicism.
▪ This circuitous approach gives jets lots of time to descend to the airport.
▪ When Stafford saw Cantor move slowly toward the right, he descended on the opposite side.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Descend

Descend \De*scend"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Descended; p. pr. & vb. n. Descending.] [F. descendre, L. descendere, descensum; de- + scandere to climb. See Scan.]

  1. To pass from a higher to a lower place; to move downwards; to come or go down in any way, as by falling, flowing, walking, etc.; to plunge; to fall; to incline downward; -- the opposite of ascend.

    The rain descended, and the floods came.
    --Matt. vii. 25.

    We will here descend to matters of later date.
    --Fuller.

  2. To enter mentally; to retire. [Poetic]

    [He] with holiest meditations fed, Into himself descended.
    --Milton.

  3. To make an attack, or incursion, as if from a vantage ground; to come suddenly and with violence; -- with on or upon.

    And on the suitors let thy wrath descend.
    --Pope.

  4. To come down to a lower, less fortunate, humbler, less virtuous, or worse, state or station; to lower or abase one's self; as, he descended from his high estate.

  5. To pass from the more general or important to the particular or less important matters to be considered.

  6. To come down, as from a source, original, or stock; to be derived; to proceed by generation or by transmission; to fall or pass by inheritance; as, the beggar may descend from a prince; a crown descends to the heir.

  7. (Anat.) To move toward the south, or to the southward.

  8. (Mus.) To fall in pitch; to pass from a higher to a lower tone.

Descend

Descend \De*scend"\, v. t. To go down upon or along; to pass from a higher to a lower part of; as, they descended the river in boats; to descend a ladder.

But never tears his cheek descended.
--Byron.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
descend

c.1300, from Old French descendre (10c.) "descend, dismount; fall into; originate in," from Latin descendere "come down, descend, sink," from de- "down" (see de-) + scandere "to climb," from PIE root *skand- "jump" (see scan (v.)). Sense of "originate" is late 14c. in English. Related: Descended; descending.

Wiktionary
descend

vb. 1 (context intransitive English) To pass from a higher to a lower place; to move downwards; to come or go down in any way, as by falling, flowing, walking, etc.; to plunge; to fall; to incline downward 2 (context intransitive poetic English) To enter mentally; to retire. 3 {{context|intransitive|with (term on English) or (term upon English)|lang=en}} To make an attack, or incursion, as if from a vantage ground; to come suddenly and with violence. 4 (context intransitive English) To come down to a lower, less fortunate, humbler, less virtuous, or worse, state or station; to lower or abase one's self 5 (context intransitive English) To pass from the more general or important to the particular or less important matters to be considered. 6 (context intransitive English) To come down, as from a source, original, or stock; to be derived; to proceed by generation or by transmission; to fall or pass by inheritance. 7 (context intransitive anatomy English) To move toward the south, or to the southward. 8 (context intransitive music English) To fall in pitch; to pass from a higher to a lower tone. 9 (context transitive English) To go down upon or along; to pass from a higher to a lower part of

WordNet
descend
  1. v. move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way; "The temperature is going down"; "The barometer is falling"; "The curtain fell on the diva"; "Her hand went up and then fell again" [syn: fall, go down, come down] [ant: rise, ascend]

  2. come from; be connected by a relationship of blood, for example; "She was descended from an old Italian noble family"; "he comes from humble origins" [syn: derive, come]

  3. do something that one considers to be below one's dignity [syn: condescend, deign]

  4. come as if by falling; "Night fell"; "Silence fell" [syn: fall, settle]

Wikipedia

Usage examples of "descend".

I have ever conversed, or whose treatises I have read, are firmly convinced that the several breeds to which each has attended, are descended from so many aboriginally distinct species.

For when it is stated, for instance, that the German Spitz dog unites more easily than other dogs with foxes, or that certain South American indigenous domestic dogs do not readily cross with European dogs, the explanation which will occur to everyone, and probably the true one, is that these dogs have descended from several aboriginally distinct species.

Today, nearly everything you see around you is descended from those adaptable ones.

The impunity of rapine had increased the boldness and numbers of the wild Isaurians: those robbers descended from their craggy mountains to ravage the adjacent country, and had even presumed, though without success, to besiege the important city of Seleucia, which was defended by a garrison of three Roman legions.

They are like the colossal strides of approaching Fate, and this awfulness is twice raised to a higher power, first by a searching, syncopated phrase in the violins which hovers loweringly over them, and next by a succession of afrighted minor scales ascending crescendo and descending piano, the change in dynamics beginning abruptly as the crest of each terrifying wave is reached.

And so we descended to a new rung of hell, the Maternal Ageist Society.

He had one hand below him and managed to push the hatch back as they descended, Avelyn rolling right over the hatchway, the deceivingly agile powrie hopping to its feet atop the now-closed portal.

Carnia were up in arms, that numerous bands of robbers had descended from the mountains of Ziccola and Agrapha, and had made their appearance on the other side of the gulf, they resolved to proceed by water to Prevesa, and having presented an order which they had received from Ali Pasha, for the use of his galliot, she was immediately fitted out to convey them.

After that, the airman, with a slightly rolling gait, quickly descended the stairs and without looking back strode down the asphalted embankment past the long hospital building.

The fact that some individuals descend into akinetic mutism whereas others do not just highlights the importance of making a choice.

Timothy spun to see Lord Nicodemus descending the stairs toward them with Alastor in his arms, a roiling cloud of supernatural energies drifting behind and above him.

We knew, however, that the Americans were planning to descend upon the jungle in the area where it was conjectured the alated had their base, and to wipe it from the map.

Halting at last, Rolan opened a narrow door and disappeared into the darkness beyond, whispering for Alec to watch his step just in time to save the boy from tumbling down more stairs that descended less than a pace from the door.

Looking over his shoulder, Alec saw a ladder descending into the darkness.

I said these words did him extreme credit, but that he must not throw away the imperishable distinction of being the first man to descend an Alp per parachute, simply to save the feelings of some envious underlings.