be down with (something)
1. To be in agreement with, in support of, have interest in, or thoroughly enjoy some subject, activity, or thing. I am so down with math, it's my favorite subject in school! Yeah, I'm down with seeing a movie later this evening. Patty's down with a quick game of soccer and said she'd meet us at the park.
2. To be ill or have caught some disease. (More often expressed as "come down with something.") Marigold had to go home early today. I think she's down with the flu. I'm not surprised to hear that he's down with bronchitis. He'd been working too hard for too many days in a row. Now that graduation is so close, plenty of the kids are down with "senioritis," an apparent inability to do homework—or even show up anymore.
down with (an illness)
Sick with a particular illness, which is named after "with." I've been down with the flu all week and have barely gotten out of bed. Oh boy, both kids have gone down with the stomach flu? We're doomed. I know my voice sounds terrible, but I'm not down with anything contagious—it's just allergies.
down with (someone or something)
A phrase used to emphasize one's opposition to someone or something, especially that the offending person or thing be removed or eliminated. It wasn't long before all the students were chanting, "Down with homework!" A: "What are the workers shouting? 'Down with overtime'?" B: "Yes, sir, it seems they're very displeased with the latest mandates." Today marks the seventh straight day of protests and chants of, "Down with the king! Down with the king!"
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
down with
1. Ill with, as in
He's down with the flu. The
down here alludes to being felled by illness. Also see
come down with.
2. Depose, do away with, as in Down with the king! This imperative dates from the early 1500s.
3. Lower or put something down, as in Down with the mainsail. [Mid-1600s]
4. be or get down with . Be close friends with, as in I'm down with that crowd. [Slang; late 1900s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.