Definition of "downshift" [downshift]

• To shift a motor vehicle into a lower gear. (verb-intransitive)
• To reduce the speed, rate, or intensity of something. (verb-intransitive)
• To simplify or reduce one's expectations or commitments, especially in work hours: "28 percent said that they had downshifted and voluntarily cut back on their income in some way ... to reflect changes in priorities” ( Carey Goldberg). (verb-intransitive)
• To shift (a motor vehicle) into a lower gear. (verb-transitive)
• To reduce in speed, rate, or intensity: "The president is downshifting his confrontational rhetoric and reaffirming his readiness to talk arms control” ( Newsweek). (verb-transitive)

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.

• "Time to downshift from the Bush Derangement Syndrome, folks. burritoboy Says:"
• "Fleming managed a convincing attacca downshift from the "éternellement lumineux" young bodies of "La maison" to an intoxicated, drill-sergeant bark for "Les deux guerriers.""
• "Baby boomers decide to "downshift" -- fewer CDs. more time -- have figured this out: Owen Byrd and Maria Lines of Palo Alto, Calif., a public-interest lawyer and an engineer, decided to cut their $100,000 income by $20,000 this year to get an extra day at home."