1. down and out [穷困潦倒;一无所有]
[构成]:down[向下;沮丧] + and[和] + out[出去;外面]
例句:After the business failure, he was down and out. [生意失败后,他变得穷困潦倒。]

2. down the drain [浪费;白费;化为乌有]
[构成]:down[向下] + the[定冠词] + drain[排水;消耗]
例句:All his efforts went down the drain. [他所有的努力都白费了。]

3. down in the dumps [心情低落;沮丧]
[构成]:down[向下] + in[在...里面] + the[定冠词] + dumps[垃圾场;忧郁]
例句:She's been down in the dumps since she lost her job. [自从丢了工作,她一直情绪低落。]

4. down to earth [实际的;务实的]
[构成]:down[向下] + to[到] + earth[地球;地面]
例句:He's a very down-to-earth person. [他是个非常务实的人。]

5. down payment [预付款;定金]
[构成]:down[向下] + payment[付款;支付]
例句:You need to make a down payment to buy this house. [买这房子你得先付定金。]

6. break down [分解;发生故障;失败]
[构成]:break[打破;弄坏] + down[向下]
例句:The machine broke down. [机器出故障了。]

7. calm down [平静下来;镇定下来]
[构成]:calm[平静的;使平静] + down[向下]
例句:Calm down and tell me what happened. [冷静下来,告诉我发生了什么。]

8. close down [关闭;停业]
[构成]:close[关闭;结束] + down[向下]
例句:The factory had to close down due to financial problems. [由于财务问题,工厂不得不关闭。]

9. cut down [削减;砍倒]
[构成]:cut[切;割] + down[向下]
例句:We should cut down on our expenses. [我们应该削减开支。]

10. fall down [跌倒;失败]
[构成]:fall[落下;跌倒] + down[向下]
例句:She fell down and hurt her knee. [她跌倒了,伤了膝盖。]

11. get down [下来;使沮丧]
[构成]:get[得到;变得] + down[向下]
例句:Get down from the tree. [从树上下来。]

12. hand down [传下来;宣布]
[构成]:hand[手;传递] + down[向下]
例句:This tradition has been handed down for generations. [这个传统已经传承了好几代。]

13. lie down [躺下]
[构成]:lie[躺;位于] + down[向下]
例句:You look tired. You should lie down and rest. [你看起来很累,应该躺下休息。]

14. look down on [轻视;看不起]
[构成]:look[看] + down[向下] + on[在...上面]
例句:Don't look down on others just because they are poor. [不要因为别人穷就看不起他们。]

15. put down [放下;镇压;贬低]
[构成]:put[放;安置] + down[向下]
例句:Put down your bag and sit here. [放下你的包,坐这儿。]

16. set down [写下;记下]
[构成]:set[放置;设定] + down[向下]
例句:Set down your ideas before you forget them. [在忘记之前把你的想法写下来。]

17. slow down [减速;放慢]
[构成]:slow[慢的;放慢] + down[向下]
例句:You need to slow down when you drive in the rain. [下雨天开车你得减速。]

18. turn down [拒绝;关小;调低]
[构成]:turn[转动;转向] + down[向下]
例句:He turned down my invitation. [他拒绝了我的邀请。]

19. write down [写下;记录]
[构成]:write[写] + down[向下]
例句:Write down your name and address. [写下你的姓名和地址。]

20. take down [取下;拆卸;记录]
[构成]:take[拿;取] + down[向下]
例句:Take down the picture from the wall. [把墙上的画取下来。]