gerund
The act of moving from a higher position to a lower one.
For us, descending the trail took two hours.
In winter, descending the stairs in the dark was difficult.
American English
How to pronounce descending
noun · verb · adjectiveB2Common word
dihSEHNdihng
/dɪˈsɛn.dɪŋ/
3 syllables · Stress the second syllable.
Form of descend
The act of moving from a higher position to a lower one.
Practice out loudMeanings & examples
present participle
Moving from a higher position to a lower one or going down from a high place.
The airplane is descending toward the runway.
The hikers are descending the mountain before dark.
participial adjective
Moving downward from a higher position.
The descending airplane passed over the runway.
The descending elevator stopped at the next floor.
present participle
Gradually entering a bad, confused, or unpleasant situation.
The meeting is descending into chaos.
The protest is descending into violence.
Useful expressions
to arrive suddenly in a large group
Tourists descended upon the quiet village.
to gradually become a bad or confused situation
The discussion descended into an argument.