Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
bottom rung en · NOUN
Meanings
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(qualifier:literal) The lowest step on a ladder.
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(figuratively, informal) The lowest level within a hierarchy, series etc..
Learning Ukrainian, it turned out, was more than a side-interest, an extracurricular activity. It forced me to look at myself in entirely new ways. In my 50s – treading the pleasant plateau of knowing broadly how to do my job after all these years – it was confronting to be back at the bottom rung of knowledge, out of my depth.
2026 August 4, Charlotte Higgins, “‘The war leaked into every lesson’: learning Ukrainian in a country under siege”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 05 Aug 2026:
Forms