downside

noun

down·​side ˈdau̇n-ˌsīd How to pronounce downside (audio)
Synonyms of downsidenext
1
: a downward trend (as of prices)
2
: a negative aspect
the downside of fame

Synonyms of downside

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of downside in a Sentence

He could find no downside to the car. the downside of living in the country is, of course, the long commute to work
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The only major downside is that the 25th Street subway stop is a 13-minute schlep, so prepare to read up on the local bus routes and prepare to bundle up come January. — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 19 Oct. 2026 That means most people are exposed to AI’s downsides — rising electricity costs, potential job disruption — without any claim on its upside. — Sarah Cannon, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026 John Goodman is getting real about the downside of starring in one of the biggest sitcoms of all time. — Lori A Bashian, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026 But the reason that keeps happening is also one of the system’s downsides. — Mike Finger, San Antonio Express-News, 15 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for downside

Word History

First Known Use

1905, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of downside was in 1905

Phrases Containing downside

Rhymes for downside

See All Rhymes for downside

Browse Nearby Words

downshift
downside
downside up
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Downside.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/downside. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All