downstate
noun, adjective, adverb
downstate is spelled D-O-W-N-S-T-A-T-E: 9 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 66,686th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, downstate means “The southern region of certain US states, particularly Michigan, New York, and Illinois” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of downstate is downstates.
How many letters and syllables are in downstate?
| Letters | 9: D-O-W-N-S-T-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 66,686th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is downstate?
Downstate appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 66,686th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce downstate?
- US
Downstate has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-downstate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of downstate
- downstates plural
- more downstate comparative
- most downstate superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does downstate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
USThe southern region of certain US states, particularly Michigan, New York, and Illinois.
The final election returns from downstate may not be available until late Wednesday morning.
- 2
A period during sleep when somebody is not primed and not ready to learn.
adjective
- 1
USOf the southern section of a state.
adverb
- 1
USTo the southern section of a state.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Downstate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense southern section of a state:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | südliche Hälfte (des US-Bundesstaates), südlicher Teil (des US-Bundesstaates) |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does downstate come from?
From down + state.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).