Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The counting backward aloud from an arbitrary starting number to indicate the time remaining before an event or operation, such as the launching of a missile or space vehicle.
  • noun The checks and preparations carried out during this activity.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A count backward in fixed units to the time of some event, especially the launch of a space vehicle
  • noun The acts of preparation carried out during this period
  • noun slang A radio or television program counting down the top songs of a given week, usually in reverse order ending with the No. 1.
  • verb nonstandard To count down

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun counting backward from an arbitrary number to indicate the time remaining before some event (such as launching a space vehicle)

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

count +‎ down

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