downgrade: Meaning and Definition of

down•grade

1. a downward slope, esp. of a road.
2. in a decline toward an inferior state or position: His career has been on the downgrade.

1. downhill.

1. to assign to a lower status with a smaller salary.
2. to minimize the importance of; denigrate: She tried to downgrade the findings of the investigation.
3. to assign a lower security classification to (information, a document, etc.).