downloadable

IPA/ˌdaʊnˈləʊdəbl/
IPA/ˌdaʊnˈləʊdəbl/

downloadable — adjective

  • downloadablepositive
  • more downloadablecomparative
  • most downloadablesuperlative

1. describes a file, app, song, or document that you can copy from a website or ano

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

describes a file, app, song, or document that you can copy from a website or another computer onto your own phone, tablet, or laptop.

Example

Hari saved the downloadable map of Taipei to his phone before the trip.

attributive: downloadable + [file noun]

Most of the recipes on the cooking blog are downloadable as PDF files.

predicative: be downloadable as + format

Common collocations
  • downloadable file
  • downloadable PDF
  • downloadable app
  • downloadable content
  • free downloadable
Synonyms
  • available online

    broader; means 'can be reached on the internet', not always saveable to your device.

  • saveable

    informal; emphasises being able to keep a copy on your device.

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

downloadable + noun

be downloadable from + source

Usage Note

Subject is almost always digital content (files, apps, songs, videos, documents, maps), never a physical object. Often paired with the format you can save it as ('downloadable as a PDF', 'as an MP3').

Common Mistakes

The book is downloadable to read at the library.
The ebook is downloadable.
physical books cannot be downloaded; only digital files can.
a downloadable cake recipe book in print
a downloadable cake recipe ebook
'downloadable' refers only to digital versions, not printed ones.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All three terms describe digital content on the internet, but they differ in what the user can actually do with the file. 'Downloadable' is the strongest claim: the user can copy the file onto their own device and keep it for later, even without an internet connection. 'Available online' is the broadest term — the content exists on a website, but the user may only be able to read or watch it in a browser, not save it. 'Streaming' specifically means the content plays in real time over the internet but is not stored on the user's device. Compare: 'a downloadable PDF' (you keep the file), 'an article available online' (you read it on the site), 'a streaming-only film' (you watch but cannot save).

downloadable ↗available onlinestreaming ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • downloadable file
  • downloadable content
  • downloadable app
  • downloadable PDF
  • downloadable version

Adverbs

  • freely downloadable
  • easily downloadable
  • fully downloadable

Phrases

  • make something downloadable
  • available as a downloadable file

Prepositions

  • downloadable from
  • downloadable as
  • downloadable to

Etymology

English

A modern computing word coined in the 1980s, formed by adding the suffix '-able' (meaning 'capable of being') to the verb 'download'. 'Download' itself was built in the 1970s from the prefix 'down-' plus 'load', describing the direction of data movement from a larger central computer down to a smaller user machine. As personal computers and the internet spread, 'downloadable' became one of the most widely used English words created entirely from technical vocabulary.