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Definition of "descent" []

  • The act or an instance of descending. (noun)
  • A way down. (noun)
  • A downward incline or passage; a slope. (noun)
  • Hereditary derivation; lineage: a person of African descent. (noun)
  • One generation of a specific lineage. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "descent" in a sentence
  • "Having at last found it, however, he forthwith began his descent; and here again he was disagreeably reminded of the much greater difficulty which is experienced in the _descent_ than in the _ascent_ of a cliff."
  • "What happens when a nationalized citizen of Latin descent is pulled over and told to show his identification papers?"
  • "Brunswick, and the fourth in descent from the famous Henry the"