What does markdown mean?
Markdown is a lightweight formatting language that uses familiar plain-text symbols to represent document structure. Asterisks can indicate emphasis, number signs can introduce headings, and square brackets can create links. Because the underlying text remains readable and portable, Markdown is widely used for documentation, online discussion, publishing, and collaborative writing. The name is usually capitalized when referring to the specific language. In a separate commercial sense, a markdown is a reduction in a product's price, as when a retailer marks down seasonal merchandise. As a verb, “to markdown” means to lower the advertised selling price. The two senses share the language of marking and pricing but belong to different domains: textual formatting for the capitalized technical term, and discount pricing for the more general commercial use.
A lightweight plain-text formatting syntax in which symbols indicate headings, emphasis, links, lists, and other document features.
"The documentation includes examples of the syntax in Markdown."
The name of the language is normally capitalized: Markdown.
A reduction from a product's original, recommended, or selling price.
"The seasonal items were offered at a substantial markdown."
This commercial use is especially common in American retail terminology.
To reduce the selling price of a product or other item.
"The retailer marked down the surplus inventory."
The verb is usually used in the separable form “mark down”; “marked down” is its past tense and passive participle.
The plural is used mainly for individual price reductions, especially in retail contexts.
"The store announced several markdowns before the weekend sale."
Markdown lets you format a document with characters such as asterisks and hashtags—turning plain text into a visual hierarchy without a word processor.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does markdown come from?
The technical term was coined in 2004 by software developer John Gruber for a lightweight way of writing formatted text. Its name combines “markup” with “mark down,” reflecting both the addition of formatting marks and the reduction of complexity compared with more elaborate systems. The older commercial sense of a price reduction developed independently from the verb “mark down,” meaning to lower a price.
Related word forms
How markdown is actually used
The technical sense is conventionally written with an initial capital letter as the name of the formatting language. The retail sense is more common in American commercial English, though it is also understood in British English. In the technical sense, “Markdown” may be used attributively, as in “Markdown syntax.”
Easily confused with markdown
Markdown is a plain-text formatting syntax, whereas markup refers more broadly to the tags or notation used to structure a document, especially in HTML or XML.
A marked-up price is an increased price added to a base cost, while a markdown is a reduction from a selling or recommended price.