Phrasal Verbs with down

• back down

  (inseparable) to concede in a disagreement
  The mugger backed down when he saw that Max was carrying a 9mm handgun.

• break down

  (inseparable) to lose control of one's emotions
  Max broke down in tears when he heard that Mary had been arrested.

• break down

  (inseparable) to stop functioning
  John had to learn to become a good mechanic as his car was always breaking down.

• bring down

  (separable) to cause to fall
  Michael Moore is hoping to bring the Bush administration down.

• burn down

  (separable) to destroy by fire
  Pleaes don't play with matches. You could burn the house down.

• calm down

  (separable) to stop being emotionally distressed
  Max was so upset that nothing could calm him down.

• come down

  (inseparable) to descend, fall, go down
  It's been hot all day. Finally the temperature is starting to come down a bit.

• come down

  (inseparable) to precipitate, fall from clouds
  Snow has been coming down for about 2 hours now.

• come down

  (inseparable) to reduce to the essential element
  In politics everything often comes down to the economy.

• come down

  (inseparable) to become sick
  Max came down with the flu.

• come down

  (inseparable) to criticize
  Max came down on Mary for not washing the dishes after dinner.

• copy down

  (separable) to record in writing
  Max told Mary about the idea. She copied it down and sold it to the highest bidder.

• cut down

  (inseparable) to reduce
  Max decided to cut down his alcohol consumption.

• die down

  (inseparable) to decrease
  The noise from the party finally died down around four in the morning.

• fall down

  (inseparable) to fall to the ground or floor
  Mary fell down and hurt her left knee.

• get down

  (inseparable) to descend or lower
  Max got down on his knees and prayed.

• get down

  (inseparable) give one's consideration or attention (used with to)
  Now that we've finished lunch, I am ready to get down to business.

• get down

  (separable) to depress, exhaust or discourage
  Talking about politics really gets me down.

• get down

  (separable) to put in writing
  Did you get everything I said down?

• go down

  (inseparable) to go under; to drop below the horizon; to sink
  I hope to get to the beach before the sun goes down.

• go down

  (inseparable) to ingest
  Water goes down exceptionally well after a long, hard soccer match.

• hold down

  (separable) to keep a job
  Mary has never been able to hold down a job.

• hunt down

  (separable) to pursue to find or capture someone or something
  Max hunted the waitress down so that he could order dinner.

• jot down

  (separable) to copy down or make a note of
  Max jotted down a few notes as the professor spoke.

• keep down

  (separable) to control; subdue; repress
  You can have a party, but please keep the noise down as much as possible.

• kneel down

  (inseparable) to go down on your knees
  Before he goes to bed, Max kneels down to pray.

• let down

  (separable) to disappoint
  The team let the coach down.

• lie down

  (inseparable) to recline
  I like to lie down in my hammock and read.

• look down on

  (inseparable) to consider inferior
  The wealthy woman looked down on the poor, homeless people in the park.

• mark down

  (separable) to reduce prices
  K-mart often marks its prices down.

• mark down

  (separable) to write or make a note on something
  Max marked the phone number down so that he wouldn't forget it.

• play down

  (separable) to make something seem less important
  Max played down his car accident so that his mother wouldn't get worried.

• pull down

  (separable) to pull something so that it comes down
  When Max drinks too much, he sometimes pulls his pants down in public.

• put down

  (separable) to kill a sick or injured animal (usually out of mercy)
  The vet said it was necessary to put the racehorse down because of its broken leg.

• put down

  (separable) to insult or make disparaging remarks about someone
  I feel sorry for Max. Every time he and Mary get together with their friends, Mary puts him down in front of everybody.

• quiet down

  (separable) to be less noisy
  Class, please quiet down. I'm trying to think.

• settle down

  (separable) to get someone to become calm
  Settle John down. The neighbors are trying to sleep.

• settle down

  (inseparable) to become calm; to start living a quiet family life
  Max started to look for a wife because he thought it was time to settle down.

• shoot down

  (separable) to make something hit the ground by shooting it
  yugoslavia shot down one US warplane.

• simmer down

  (inseparable) to become less angry
  Bill allowed his wife to simmer down before he asked for forgiveness.

• take down

  (separable) to lower
  Max took his pants down so that the nurse could give him an injection.

• take down

  (separable) to dismantle; disassemble; take apart
  Max took down his tent and went home.

• take down

  (separable) to lower one's self-esteem
  Mary's constant criticism has taken Max down considerably.

• turn down

  (separable) to reject
  Bill asked 100 girls to go out on a date with him. All but one turned him down.

• turn down

  (separable) to decrease
  Please turn the radio down. It's too loud.

• water down

  (separable) to make weaker
  Don't go to that bar. The bartender waters down all of the drinks.

• wear down

  (separable) to cause to be worn or weak
  Your nagging is wearing me down.

• write down

  (separable) to record in writing
  In that class, you should write down everything that the professor says. It's likely to be on the test.