downer

noun

1. (slang)A negative drug trip.

   “Normally those pills give me a boost, but last night they gave me a downer.”

2. (slang)A drug that has depressant qualities.

   “Say, for example, a person starts with the use of a downer that reduces any anxiety and produces a sense of relaxation. When their energy levels drop, they take a stimulant in order to continue participating in the party or another event. This creates a cycle that could lead to significant drug use and drastically increases the risk of overdose or death. It is critical to know which drugs are uppers and downers to avoid this combination.”

3. (slang)Something or someone disagreeable, dispiriting or depressing; a killjoy.

   “You don't really need to know me. I'm kind of a downer.”

   “Geffen had never understood why such a downer of a film was being released over the holidays.”

4. A livestock animal that has collapsed.

   “The ten-dollar bill was for eating money and the prod pole to be used when the train stopped for water in getting "downers" back on their feet.”

   “In 1993, Farm Sanctuary produced undercover footage of downers being lifted by forklift at Hallmark, prompting introduction of a California downer cattle law the next year. Either management provided instructions to get the downers moving or was asleep at the wheel and let employees run wild — in either case, it's an indictment of management.”

   “The two plants where I saw great reductions in downers have reduced, but not eliminated Paylean use.”

5. A form of industrial action in which workers down tools and refuse to work.

   “In the Workplace Industrial Relations Survey, a strike may be a downer or a stoppage as defined by the Department.”

   “Cowley experienced a rash of 'downers' — short, sharp, unofficial strikes.”

6. (UK, obsolete, slang)A sixpence.

   “The price of a case (five shillings piece bad) from the smasher is about one shilling; an alderman (two and sixpence) about sixpence; a peg (shilling) about threepence; a downer or sprat (sixpence) about twopence.”

name

1. A surname.
2. A suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia, named after John Downer.
3. An unincorporated community in Clay County, Minnesota, United States.