How to Use descent in a Sentence

descent

noun
  • The only path that goes down to the river is a rather steep descent, so be careful.
  • The book describes his descent into a deep depression after the death of his wife.
  • And then there's the descent, rife with dicey turns at high speed.
    — Rob Marciano, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026
  • Stop the descent into the red zone.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
  • At this point, the spacecraft’s thrusters will help to slow the descent.
    — Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 9 Apr. 2026
  • The race is on a longer course than the sprints, with two ascents and two descents.
    — Sean Gregory, Time, 28 Jan. 2026
  • The low is made all the more real by the descent from a manic high.
    — Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2023
  • But there was another method of descent in store for me.
    — Rose Evans, Idaho Statesman, 29 Aug. 2025
  • No one was hurt, and the cause of the rapid descent remains unclear.
    — Jonathan Edwards, Anchorage Daily News, 16 Feb. 2023
  • The footage shows the wheels of the jet coming close to the truck as the plane makes its descent.
    — Clara McMichael, ABC News, 5 May 2026
  • These and others make a katabasis, a descent to death.
    — Literary Hub, 18 May 2026
  • Once at the top, athletes then remove the skins for a quick descent back down the slope.
    — Stephen J. Beard, USA Today, 19 Feb. 2026
  • But it can be snapped back together and used as a snowboard for descents.
    — William Finnegan, New Yorker, 29 June 2026
  • Lisa and Alba cheered with every thrust and descent of the boat.
    — Ayşegül Savaş, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2025
  • Its descent will also likely be one of the fastest reentries to date.
    — Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 30 Aug. 2022
  • Plan for dense fog, heavy dew on grassy, sock-soaking paths, and take it easy on eroded descents.
    — Madison Chapman, Outside, 25 Mar. 2026
  • The descent mimics the route the water once took through the power plant.
    — Heather Greenwood Davis, Travel + Leisure, 28 Jan. 2022
  • But don’t have to be of Irish descent to get into the spirit of the day.
    — Gretta Monahan, Boston Herald, 5 Mar. 2026
  • Many will find the descent as challenging as the ascent.
    — John Meyer, Denver Post, 26 May 2026
  • While the ride was in descent, the bracket hit the coaster’s track and came off the coaster train.
    — Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 2 May 2024
  • On the second descent, the pressure burst through, taking chunks of the heat shield with it.
    — Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2026
  • Khan is Muslim, of Bangladeshi descent.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 13 Mar. 2026
  • So what’s behind this further descent?
    — Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 15 Oct. 2025
  • So what’s behind this further descent?
    — Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
  • For the descent stage, Lockheed would go shopping.
    — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 24 Oct. 2025
  • More accidents struck on the ascent than the descent.
    — Maya Silver, Outside, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Morrison’s descent wasn’t just to achieve a world first, either.
    — Madison Dapcevich, Outside, 29 Oct. 2025
  • To control their descent, they’re given ice axes to dig into the snow as a brake.
    — Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Besides a steep descent from the parking lot into the canyon, the route is mostly flat.
    — Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 1 Aug. 2024
  • Nor have the presidents on screen been of South Asian descent.
    — Peter Kastor, The Conversation, 13 Aug. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'descent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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