/dɪ'send; dɪ`sɛnd/
v
1 (fml 文)
(a) [I, Tn] come or go down (sth) 下来; 下去; 下降
*The balloon descended gradually as the air came out. 气球空气外逸而缓缓下降.
* She descended the stairs. 她走下楼梯.
(b) [I] (of a hill, etc) lead downwards; slope （指山等）下倾, 下斜
*We turned the corner and saw that the road descended steeply. 我们转过弯, 看到路陡然下倾.
2 [Ipr] ~ from sb (of properties, qualities, rights) pass from father to son; be inherited by sb from sb （指财产、气质、权利）由父传子, 从某人处继承, 传下, 遗传
*The title descends to me from my father. 这个头衔是由我父亲传给我的.
3 [I] (fml 文) (of night, darkness) fall （指夜、黑暗）降临
*Night descends quickly in the tropics. 热带地区黑夜来得很快.
4 (idm 习语) be descended from sb have sb as an ancestor 为某人的後裔
*She claims to be descended from royalty. 她声称她是皇室後裔.
5 (phr v) descend on/upon sb/sth
(a) attack sb/sth suddenly 袭击某人[某物]
*The police descended on their hide-out. 警察突袭了他们的藏身处.
(b) visit sb/sth unexpectedly or inconveniently 出乎意料地或不合时宜地去见某人[来到某处]
*My sister's family is descending on us this weekend. 想不到我姐姐一家本周末要到我们这里来. descend to sth (no passive 不用于被动语态) do or say sth that is mean and unworthy of one; stoop to sth 做或说卑鄙无耻的事; 降低身分或人格做某事
*descend to fraud, abuse, bad language 堕落到去欺诈、辱骂、使用下流语言.

v
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French;Origin: descendre, from Latin scandere 'to climb']
[I and T]formal
to move from a higher level to a lower one
≠ ascend
　Our plane started to descend.
　I heard his footsteps descending the stairs.
descend to/from/into etc
　The path continues for some way before descending to Garsdale Head.
[I]literary
if darkness, silence, a feeling etc descends, it becomes dark etc or you start to feel something, especially suddenly
descend on/upon/over
　Total silence descended on the room.
　An air of gloom descended over the party headquarters.
in descending order (of sth)
numbers, choices etc that are in descending order are arranged from the highest or most important to the lowest or least important
　The hotels are listed in descending order of price.
descend from / [descend from sb/sth] phr v
be descended from sb
to be related to a person or group who lived a long time ago
　She claims to be descended from Abraham Lincoln.
　The people here are descended from the Vikings.
to have developed from something that existed in the past
　ideas that descend from those of ancient philosophers
descend on/upon / [descend on/upon sb/sth] phr v
if a large number of people descend on a person or a place, they come to visit or stay, especially when they are not very welcome
　Millions of tourists descend on the area every year.
descend to [descend to sth] phr v
to behave or speak in an unpleasant way, which is not the way you usually behave
　Surely he wouldn't descend to such a mean trick?
descend to sb's level
(=behave or speak as badly as someone else)
　Other people may gossip, but don't descend to their level.

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HINT sense 1
It is more usual to say go down or come down .

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