Downshift

//ˈdaʊnʃɪft// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A change of direction or a movement downwards. Canada, US
  2. 2
    a change to a lower gear in a car or bicycle wordnet
  3. 3
    A reduction in quality or quantity. Canada, US
  4. 4
    a change from a financially rewarding but stressful career to a less well paid but more fulfilling one wordnet
  5. 5
    A change in career or lifestyle to one which is not as well paid but less stressful and more personally rewarding. Canada, US
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    A shift of a transmission into a lower gear, as dictated by heavier load on the engine, as for example when climbing a hill or strongly accelerating. Canada, US

    "The driver, Lindsay, gave me a regal wave at the top after he had completed a series of perfect downshifts[.]"

Verb
  1. 1
    To reduce (something) in quality or quantity (as effect, scope, speed, etc.) Canada, US, transitive

    "But in this variation on Superbad's wild night of transgression, downshifting the age of the protagonists from teen to tween actually only enhances the stealth, wide-eyed innocence that secretly drives this genre of pre-college hedonism."

  2. 2
    To change (one's career or lifestyle) to one which is not as well paid but less stressful and more personally rewarding. Canada, US, transitive
  3. 3
    To shift (a car or bicycle) into a lower gear. Canada, US, transitive

    "He brought the car to a stop before the bridge, downshifted and then put her at the road again in a rising disciplined snarl along the N.6 to Cannes."

  4. 4
    To function at a lower rate; to slacken. Canada, US, intransitive
  5. 5
    To change one's career or lifestyle to one which is not as well paid but less stressful and more personally rewarding. Canada, US, intransitive
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    To shift a transmission into a lower gear. Canada, US, intransitive

    "In a stick-shift vehicle, the driver must downshift when necessary; in an automatic, the transmission downshifts as needed."

Synonyms

All synonyms
attenuate

Example

More examples

"The driver, Lindsay, gave me a regal wave at the top after he had completed a series of perfect downshifts[.]"

Etymology

The noun is derived from down (preposition) + shift (“slight change or movement”). The verb is derived from the noun.

More for "downshift"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.