NARROW DOWN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does narrow down mean? 

• NARROW DOWN (verb)
  The verb NARROW DOWN has 2 senses:

1. define clearly

2. become more focused on an area of activity or field of study

  Familiarity information: NARROW DOWN used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• NARROW DOWN (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Define clearly

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

nail down; narrow; narrow down; peg down; pin down; specify

Context example:

I cannot narrow down the rules for this game

Hypernyms (to "narrow down" is one way to...):

determine (fix in scope; fix the boundaries of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "narrow down"):

concretize (make something concrete)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Sense 2

Meaning:

Become more focused on an area of activity or field of study

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

narrow; narrow down; specialise; specialize

Context example:

She specializes in Near Eastern history

Hypernyms (to "narrow down" is one way to...):

alter; change; vary (become different in some particular way, without permanently losing one's or its former characteristics or essence)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "narrow down"):

overspecialise; overspecialize (become overly specialized)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

 Context examples 

Fine-mapping studies, such as this one, allow scientists to narrow down which variants contributing to the disease, how they might work and predict which are the genes involved.

(Detailed genetic study provides most comprehensive map of risk to date of breast cancer risk, University of Cambridge)

The next steps for the team are to dig deeper into the details of the process, perhaps narrow down even further the subset of genes necessary for nitrogen fixation, and collaborate with other plant scientists to apply the lessons learned from this study to the next level: nitrogen-fixing plants.

(Bacteria Used to Create Fertilizer Out of Thin Air, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)