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mark down meaning and examples

2025-09-20

Meaning

  • mark down (phrasal verb)

    1. To reduce the price of something.
    2. To write/record something quickly so you don’t forget it.
    3. To consider/label someone or something as a particular type or likely to do something (“mark someone down as …”).

Grammar and Usage

  • Price reduction (transitive): mark down + object (by/to …) “The store marked down the jackets by 30% / to $49.”
  • Writing/recording (transitive): mark down + object “Mark down the meeting time.”
  • Labeling/considering (transitive, with complement): mark + object + down as + noun/adjective/infinitive “They marked him down as a strong candidate.”
  • Passive forms are common in retail/news: be marked down “All clearance items are marked down.”

Variations with particles/prepositions

  • mark down by + amount/percentage – reduction size.
  • mark down to + price – new price point.
  • mark someone down as + N/Adj/to V – judgment/classification.

Common Phrases

  • marked-down price/items
  • mark something down by 10%
  • mark something down to $X
  • mark someone down as a …
  • mark the date down (informal for “note the date”)

Collocations

  • verbs + mark down: decide to, plan to, be forced to, refuse to
  • nouns + marked-down: items, goods, merchandise, tickets, fares
  • mark down + nouns: prices, stock, inventory, notes, dates, points
  • mark someone down as +: favorite, outsider, potential winner, risky hire

Examples

  1. The supermarket marked down the strawberries to clear yesterday’s stock.
  2. This jacket has been marked down by 40% for the weekend sale.
  3. Mark the deadline down so you don’t miss it.
  4. Critics marked the film down as a likely awards contender.
  5. I’ve marked down everyone’s food preferences for the trip.
  6. After the recall, the retailer marked the models down to half price.
  7. Don’t mark him down as lazy—he’s just new to the role.
  8. Could you mark down your availability for next week in the sheet?
  9. These shoes were marked down from $120 to $75.
  10. The analyst marked the company down as a turnaround story.
  • price reduction: discount, reduce, cut, slash, underprice
  • record/write: note, jot down, write down, log, record
  • label/consider: classify, regard, deem, rate as, tag as

Antonym

  • mark up (increase the price)
  • For the “record” sense: forget, overlook (contextual opposites)