downforce

British

/ ˈdaʊnˌfɔːs /

noun

a force produced by air resistance plus gravity that increases the stability of an aircraft or motor vehicle by pressing it downwards

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The new cars have less downforce than last year, so they have less grip, but the drivers are still on the limit of that grip in the corners.

From BBC

Their 2026 car has been a disappointment so far, overweight by a significant margin - said to be anywhere between 25 and 40 kilos - and lacking downforce.

From BBC

They are smaller and have less downforce, so they slide more in corners, and look more agile.

From BBC

"We just have a less downforce," the Ferrari driver said.

From BBC

"Now it is the energy, last year or two years ago, when he won all the races, it was downforce. He could go in the corners at 280km/h and we could go in the corners at 250km/h because we didn't have the downforce."

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023