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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

low en · ADJ · etymology 1

Pronunciation

  • (US) audio
  • /ˈləʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /ˈloʊ/ (Canada)
  • [ˈloː] (Canada)
  • /ˈlou/ (Wales) without the toe–tow merger
  • /ˈloʊ/ (US)
  • /ˈlo/ (Scotland)
  • /ˈlaː/ (Northumbria, dialectal)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *légʰyeti Proto-Germanic *ligjaną Proto-Germanic *lēgaz Old Norse lágrbor. Middle English lāh English low From Middle English lah, loue, from Old Norse lágr (“low”), from Proto-Germanic *lēgaz (“low; flat”), from *ligjaną (“to lie; to lead”), from Proto-Indo-European *légʰyeti (“to be lying down”), from *legʰ- (“to lie”). Cognates Cognate with Scots laich (“low”), Saterland Frisian läich (“low”), West Frisian leech (“low”), Dutch laag (“low”), German Low German leeg, leeg' (“low; inferior”), West Flemish leeg (“lazy”), Danish lav (“low”), Faroese and Icelandic lágur (“low”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish låg (“low”), Finnish laaka (“flat”), Ingrian laaku (“gentle”); also Irish laigh, luigh (“to lie”), Manx lhie (“lie; lay”), Scottish Gaelic laigh (“lie; lay”), Faliscan 𐌋𐌄𐌂𐌄𐌕 (lecet, “he lies down”), Latin lectus (“bed”), South Picene 𐌅𐌄𐌉𐌀𐌕 (veiat, “to lie”), Ancient Greek λέχομαι (lékhomai, “to lie down”), Albanian lag (“band, encampment, troop”), Belarusian ляжа́ць (ljažácʹ, “to lie”), Bulgarian лежа́ (ležá, “to lie”), Czech ležet (“to lie”), Macedonian лежи (leži, “to lie”), Polish leżeć (“to lie”), Russian лежа́ть (ležátʹ, “to lie”), Serbo-Croatian лѐжати, lèžati (“to lie”), Slovene ležáti (“to lie”), Ukrainian лежа́ти (ležáty, “to lie”), Tocharian B lyäk- (“to lie”). More at lie.

Meanings

  1. Situated close to, or even below, the ground or another normal reference plane; not high or lofty.
    • Narrative friezes in low relief were characteristic of Ionic architecture. 2012, Tyler Jo Smith, Dimitris Plantzos, A Companion to Greek Art, →ISBN:
    • standing on low ground
    • in a low valley, ringed by low hills
    • a low wall a low shelf
  2. Situated close to, or even below, the ground or another normal reference plane; not high or lofty. ▸ Pertaining to (or, especially of a language: spoken in) in an area which is at a lesser elevation, closer to sea level (especially near the sea), than other regions.
    • Low German
    • the low countries
  3. (of a ball) Situated close to, or even below, the ground or another normal reference plane; not high or lofty. ▸ Below the batter's knees.
    • the pitch (or: the ball) was low
  4. Of less than normal height or upward extent or growth, or of greater than normal depth or recession; below the average or normal level from which elevation is measured.
    • a low tide
    • the Mississippi is unusually low right now
    • "Now you mention her, I do remember the young lady," said Mrs. Grantly; "a dark girl, very low, and without much figure. She seemed to me to keep very much in the background." 1911(?), Anthony Trollope, Framley Parsonage, page 13
    • Just a month ago, data showed Antarctica would set a record this year for lowest sea-ice extent — the area of ocean covered by sea ice around the continent. 2022 March 25, Rachel Ramirez and Hafsa Khalil, “Antarctic ice shelf nearly the size of Los Angeles collapsed as temperatures soared to 40 above normal”, in CNN:
    • a low bow
    • The men are well-proportioned, rather low than tall, have a brown complexion, and reserved countenance. 1795, James Cavanah Murphy, Travels in Portugal, page 15:
    • It is a little low hearb […] 1607 (edition of 1967), Edward Topsell, The history of four-footed beasts
  5. Of less than normal height or upward extent or growth, or of greater than normal depth or recession; below the average or normal level from which elevation is measured. ▸ Low-cut.
    • Again, observe the unmeaningness of the low neck fashion. Our mothers wore low dresses and bare arms all day long; they knew if their shoulders and arms were beautiful they would look as well by daylight as by candlelight; […] 1878, Mary Eliza Joy Haweis, The Art of Beauty, London: Chatto & Windus, page 83:
    • Why do girls wear low dresses? 1917, George Amos Dorsey, Young Low, page 195:
  6. Not high in status, esteem, or rank, dignity, or quality. (Compare vulgar.)
    • playing low tricks on them
    • Low-Sunday, is the Sunday after Easter, and is so call'd, because it is a low Festival in Comparison of that Day whereon Christ arose from Death to Life again. 1720, The Delphick oracle, page 35:
    • Therefore they must have been common in the 16th century also among the folk first of all not as a high festival food but rather as a low festival and Sunday food, if our experience proves accurate. 1971, Keystone Folklore Quarterly, volume 16, page 208:
    • the low officials of the bureaucracy
    • a person of low mind
    • low birth
    • Now that was low even for you!
    • low-quality fabric
    • low rank
  7. Humble, meek, not haughty.
    • God loves an humble soul. It is not our high birth, but our low hearts God delights in. 1829, Thomas Watson, Discourses on Important and Interesting Subjects:
  8. Disparaging; assigning little value or excellence.
    • The humble soul has low thoughts of his own person; as David, 'I am a worm, and no man.' 1826, Ebenezer Erskine, The Whole Works of the Rev. Ebenezer Erskine, Sermon VII, page 103:
    • She had a low opinion of cats. He took a low view of dogs.
  9. Being a nadir, a bottom.
    • the low point in her career
    • Virginia, for example, reached such a low point in her junior year that she briefly considered suicide [...] 2012, Faith Hartmann, Only a Fool Would Have Believed It in the First Place, →ISBN:
  10. Depressed in mood, dejected, sad.
    • As low as I felt, at least I didn't have Hunding's [miserable] job. 2016, Rick Riordan, The Hammer of Thor, page 33:
    • low spirits
  11. Lacking health or vitality, strength or vivacity; feeble; weak.
    • a low pulse
    • made (or: laid) low by sickness
  12. (qualifier:roleplaying games) Lacking health or vitality, strength or vivacity; feeble; weak. ▸ Having few hit points remaining; damaged.
  13. Dead. (Compare lay low.)
    • [L]et the mournful martial music blow; / The last great Englishman is low. 1852, Alfred Tennyson, “Stanza III”, in Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 6:
    • And wilt thou weep when I am low? 1830, George Gordon Byron Baron Byron, Byron's Poems, page 511:
  14. Small, not high (in amount or quantity, value, force, energy, etc).
    • The ability to shift profits to low-tax countries by locating intellectual property in them, which is then licensed to related businesses in high-tax countries, is often assumed to be the preserve of high-tech companies. […] current tax rules make it easy for all sorts of firms to generate […] “stateless income”: profit subject to tax in a jurisdiction that is neither the location of the factors of production that generate the income nor where the parent firm is domiciled. 2013 June 22, “T time”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, archived from the original on 11 Mar 2023, page 68:
    • My credit union charges a low interest rate. Jogging during a whiteout, with such low temperatures and low visibility, is dangerous. The store sold bread at low prices, and milk at even lower prices. The contractors gave a low estimate of the costs. low cholesterol a low voltage wire a low number
    • Unfortunately, low winds were the rule over the local waters and this craft was no better, if as good, as ordinary sailboats under such conditions. 1989, Bernard Smith, Sailloons and Fliptackers: The Limits to High-speed Sailing, →ISBN:
  15. Small, not high (in amount or quantity, value, force, energy, etc). ▸ Having a small or comparatively smaller concentration of (a substance, which is often but not always linked by "in" when predicative).
    • diets low in vitamin A
    • made from low-carbon steel
  16. Small, not high (in amount or quantity, value, force, energy, etc). ▸ Depleted, or nearing deletion; lacking in supply.
    • running low on cash
    • When silica is in low supply other classes of algae dominate the phytoplankton composition. 2002, V.N. Bashkin, Robert W. Howarth, Modern Biogeochemistry, →ISBN, page 151:
  17. (especially, in biology) Simple in complexity or development.
    • low protozoan animals, low cryptogamic plants, and other low organisms
    • In the case of languages spoken by very low races, like the Puris and the Tasmanians, the difficulty of deciding such a point must be very great. 1870, Edward Burnett Tylor, Researches Into the Early History of Mankind and the Development of Civilization, page 80:
  18. (in several set phrases) Favoring simplicity (see e.g. low church, Low Tory).
    • […] and give a judgment against not only Denison, but the Church's doctrine; and that, it having once been given, we shall not get it reversed; and that the Church of England will seem to be committed to Low doctrine, which […] 1889, Reginald Garton Wilberforce, Life of Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford and Winchester, page 152:
    • Among them there was none more low, more pious, more sincere, or more given to interference. To teach Mr. Worth his duty as a parish clergyman was evidently a necessity to such a bishop. 1881, Anthony Trollope, Dr. Wortle's School: A Novel, page 6:
  19. (in several set phrases) Being near the equator.
    • the low northern latitudes
  20. (qualifier:acoustics) Grave in pitch, due to being produced by relatively slow vibrations (wave oscillations); flat.
    • Generally, European men have lower voices than their Indian counterparts.
    • The note was too low for her to sing.
  21. Quiet; soft; not loud.
    • They spoke in low voices so I would not hear what they were saying.
    • Speak low if you speak love. 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
    • Why would you want to play heavy metal at such a low volume?
  22. Made with a relatively large opening between the tongue and the palate; made with (part of) the tongue positioned low in the mouth, relative to the palate.
  23. Lesser in value than other cards, denominations, suits, etc.
    • a low card
  24. (archaic) Not rich or seasoned; offering the minimum of nutritional requirements; plain, simple.
    • The Physicians ordered a low diet, and cooling ptisans in great abundance. 1789, John Moore, Zeluco, Valancourt, published 2008, page 173:
  25. (of an automobile, qualifier:gear; etc; gear; etc) Designed for a slow (or the slowest) speed.
    • low gear

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
lower Degree=Cmp lexicographic
lowest Degree=Sup lexicographic

Antonyms

high · high · tall · exalted · tall · high · eminent · eminent · exalted · tall · lofty · elevated · elevated · lofty · tall · high · high

Deriveds

low-spiritedness (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-keyed (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowhearted (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-speed (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-residency (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low temperature flexibility (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowdown (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-level language (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low Dutch (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-cost (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowlight (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low breathing (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low context culture (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-slope roof (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · alow (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · keep the rent low (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low bono (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-alcohol (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low hangers (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowlife (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low and behold (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low German (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-budget (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-key (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowriding (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowhanging (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowest of the low (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-quality (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowrider (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-hat (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-carber (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low gear (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low Fowler's (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low Sunday (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowness (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-keyness (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-caloric (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low Row (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-grade (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-doc loan (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowland (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-sulphur (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · fly low (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low comedy (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-life (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · high-low split (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · down low (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · ultra-low sulphur diesel (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-support (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · ultra low cost carrier (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowish (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-calorie (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowbell (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low line (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Lowcountry (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low Angerton (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-tar (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · could eat the crutch from a low flying duck (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low post (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-maintenance (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low Countries (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low spirits (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low life (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-powered (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low season (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-propensity (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-value (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-info (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · extremely low frequency (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-background steel (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low mass (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · very low mass star (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-paid (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-sun (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low thyroid (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-velocity (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-background (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · semilow (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · ultra-low sulfur diesel (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-noise block downconverter (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-sock (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low grade (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low surface brightness galaxy (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowbie (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-code (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-studded (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low Latin (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low milling (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · pisslow (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Bowland Forest Low (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-surface-brightness galaxy (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · high and low (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low wine (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-context culture (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-power (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-tech (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low C (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · high-low (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-income (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · hang low (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-functioning (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-res (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Kilburn High and Low (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low post area (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low surrogate (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowboy (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low back (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-necked (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low Earth orbit (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low fidelity (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low Saxon (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low key (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · on the low (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low Church (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowth (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-fidelity (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low Hill (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · overlow (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-octane (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-yield (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lower (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low Dinsdale (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-risk (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-lived (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-fat (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low hundreds (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · mackerel sky and mare's-tails make lofty ships carry low sails (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · ultralow (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-tension (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-minded (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low technology (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low yo-yo (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low magick (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Lowgill (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-profile (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-beam (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low side (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low Bentham (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-rank (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-spirited (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-emission (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-impact (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low point (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low tide (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · keep a low profile (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low water (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowling (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · high low jack (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low Harrogate (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-melting (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-T (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low hanging fruit (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low bridge (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low Town (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Holme Low (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · superlow (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low Gill (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low Street (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low Moor (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-heartedness (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low wire (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-density (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low block (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-status (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low Island (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · could eat the arse out of a low flying duck (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-background lead (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowcut (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · bring low (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low side window (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-pass (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low mass star (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low definition (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowpass (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowbrow (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · soft bigotry of low expectations (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low on the totem pole (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-sided (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-grade fever (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low blow (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · nonlow (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-boiling (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · mackerel sky and mare's-tails make tall ships carry low sails (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low Kilburn (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-rent (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-cal (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-mindedness (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Omaha high-low split (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-wing (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-ceilinged (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low poly (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-rise (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-resolution (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-bell (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low explosive (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-carb (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-heartedly (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-dose CT scanning (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-brow (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-performance (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-hearted (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low exercise price option (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · no and low (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowsome (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-hangers (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · High and Low Bishopside (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-end (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowminded (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low Rhenish (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · mean lower low water (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low cost carrier (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low island (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low decile (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-context (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowkey (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low Coniscliffe (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-water mark (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Thirkleby High and Low with Osgodby (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · on the down-low (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low magic (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-floor (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low five (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowball (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · at a low ebb (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-heeled (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low relief (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low loader (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-proof (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · I have low blood pressure (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low politics (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · infralow (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · racism of low expectations (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowline (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-hanging fruit (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · could eat the crotch out of a low flying duck (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-class (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-IQ (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low Valleyfield (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-skilled (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low profile (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low rise (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-temperature (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · moral low ground (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-effort syndrome (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · ultra low frequency (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low and slow (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · sublow (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low fantasy (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low steel (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-down (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-kill shelter (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Lowveld (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-top fade (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low back merger (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-mindedly (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · highlow (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-sulfur (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · down-low (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-density lipoprotein (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Low Fell (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-growing (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low tea (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-pitched (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-masking (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low road (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low dot (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowbush (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lilly-low (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · friends in low places (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowstand (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low sock (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-level (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-thoughted (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · cutoff low (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · Lowlands (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low fade (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-pressure (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · lowly (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low hat (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-information (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-altitude (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low camp (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-cost carrier (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-crowned seahorse (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-functioning autism (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · come low (Terms derived from low (adjective)) · low-seeded (Terms derived from low (adjective))

Relateds

below

Synonyms (first 500 of 701)

blown · grieving · not worth a penny · junky · expired · tristful · harmed · deep · unappreciated · anemic · substandard · contumelious · unvaluable · low · late · soft · soft · for the birds · unresistant · petty · no-account · wurly · shattered · inconsolable · two-bit · debilitated · toshy · not worth hell room · pocket-size · shortsome · resigned · feeble · disrespectful · dolesome · vulnerable · disgruntled · unappreciated · low-spirited · rubbishy · wretched · debilitated · frail · pocket-size · Synonyms: immoral (despicable thing to do) · low · expended · vertically challenged · miserable · drecky · punk · stubbed · anemic · valueless · melancholic · breakable · sad · atrabilious · tripy · mucid · stubbed · inferior · cadaverous · inanimate · putid · poor man's · small · for the birds · low-level · withering · not worth a dime · rubbishy · frail · weary · derogative · chintzy · prostrated · third-rate · strawlike · dull · pound-shop · shand · downhearted · garbagey · raddled · sniffy · joyless · bastardly · invaluable · raddled · invaluable · goodless · shand · two-bit · blistering · reduced · trashy · not worth a curse · unlively · wimpy · wee · dreckish · floccinaucinihilipilificatious · short · flimsy · sorry · meek · unalive · subpar · quiet as a church mouse · kaput · naughty · under par · vincible · passionate · ickle · draffy · resistless · low-level · disheartened · craptastic · chapfallen · enfeebled · shitstained · devalued · sullen · worthless · whilom · slim · crapperific · thin · feeble · not worth a Continental · not worth a damn · not worth a penny · powerless · at rest · saturnine · goodless · duffing · compact · mucid · not worth hell room · trinkety · fucking · breakable · mournful · not worth a nickel · sorry-ass · damaged · elegious · low · not worth a curse · good-for-naught · triobolar · resting · not worth a whistle · screwy · lifeless · ass · woebegone · quiet as a grave · flimsy · unhappy · tenth-rate · shitty-ass · cullionly · vertically challenged · crappy · lugubrious · slim · quiet · reduced · cacky · small-scale · underslung · tin-pot · good · threnetical · wasted · floccinaucinihilipilificatious · faint · sixpenny · not worth a whistle · tenth-rate · bastardly · rubbishly · not worth a penny · vulnerable · worn out · petty · no-account · broken-down · gloomy · shit · stubby · nonvaluable · out · made in China · blessed · underslung · not worth a plug nickel · exhausted · short · wasted · not worth a plug nickel · below par · low · anemic · bastardly · scrubby · blown · enfeebled · broken-down · dickless · pint-sized · shortsome · sapped · worth nothing · modest · shitey · fourth-rate · poor · draffy · not worth a damn · quiet as a mouse · vincible · not worth a cress · junky · crestfallen · scummy · good-for-naught · bad · suckworthy · weakened · pissass · decrepit · wee · cocking · low · sorry-ass · damp · killed · small · cruddy · drecky · strawlike · asleep · little · dickless · fun size · shit · puny · spiritless · not worth a dime · worthless · despondent · weedy · glum · fun-sized · cold · used up · reduced · wretched · not worth a farthing · hushed · not worth a whistle · valueless · naughty · not worth a nickel · low · unconsolable · grief-stricken · ineffectual · sneerful · languid · god-awful · unhappy · deceased · trinkety · not worth a brass farthing · not worth a brass farthing · scabbed · wurly · scrimp · scabbed · frail · depleted · shoddy · pint-sized · second-rate · torpid · worth nothing · six feet deep · wutless · disdainful · nought · demure · shitstained · compact · coffee-and · living impaired · tripy · infelicitous · slight · expended · lumpish · scrimp · saddened · dreckish · good-for-nothing · shitey · reposing · prostrate · bottom-shelf · heavy-hearted · tender · abject · humble-hearted · nether · draffish · low · unvaluable · nether · wasted · tired · mopey · melancholy · wimpy · crapalicious · sorrow-ridden · crummy · departed · flat · shitty-ass · low-level · sorrowsome · pathetic · ickle · woeful · cacky · fragile · nonvaluable · strawlike · sneerful · unresistant · ineffectual · ineffectual · cocking · down in the dumps · ropy · nonvaluable · weakened · chopfallen · mini · moody · nether · modest · contemptuous · craptabulous · shitstained · tenth-rate · flimsy · naughty · small · scurvy · six feet under · enervated · lousy · uncheerful · rubbish · sixpenny · blitheless · depressed · floccinaucinihilipilificatious · cruddy · slight · delicate · mouldy · fey · rinky-dink · not worth a cress · bum · bad · lit'l · rubbishy · shit · torpid · no longer with us · one-star · crappo · infirm · delicate · unpretentious · petty · low · stifled · prostrate · no-account · sombre · impotent · resistless · slim · low · belittling · fun size · defunct · small-scale · low · slight · no more · not worth a cress · trash · good-for-nothing · slighting · Plutonic · no good / no-good · shitty · low-toned · harmed · not worth salt · sad · infirm · threnetic · drecky · powerless · scathing · abased · junky · not worth salt · fucking · fun size · injured · puny · injured · lachrymose · jabberwocky · susceptible · enervated · duffing · worn out · toshy · unappreciated · hurt · cheap · all · finished · triste · putid · with God · lit'l · wurly · impaired · ticky-tacky · dejected · poor · elegiac · scummy · crap · decomposed · not worth hell room · plaintive · not worth a plug nickel · naughty · not worth a Continental · heartsick · morose · cocking · piano · nought · gone · sad · crapalicious · of no value · garbage · decrepit · consumed · small-scale · modest · jabberwocky · lamentful · gone · slight · dismissive · spent · clay-cold · of no value · punk · triobolar · cheapshit · stumpy · blown · rubbishly · little · tripy · jabberwocky · tired · duffing · muffled · mouldy · weak

Translations (270)

sh низак (small in height) · et jäme (of pitch) · fi alhainen (situated below the normal level) · ru пода́вленный (depressed, sad) · kk аласа (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · az aşağı (situated below the normal level) · az alçaq (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ms rendah (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · bg нисък (of pitch) · ja 低音 (of pitch) · ca baix (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · sh низак (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ceb ubos (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · uk низьки́й (not high in amount or quantity) · pdt läach (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · fi pieni (designed for the slowest speed) · ia basse (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · mk низок (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · cmn(small in height) · de gemein (despicable) · fr petit (despicable) · oc bas (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · eo mallaŭta (quiet; soft; not loud) · ky аласа (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · kea baxu (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · km គួរឲ្យស្អប់ (despicable) · et madal (of pitch) · arz واطي (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · sh nizak (small in height) · fr calme (quiet; soft; not loud) · fo lágur (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ga íseal (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ru невысо́кий (small in height) · cmn(in a position comparatively close to the ground) · es bajo (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · fi niukka (not rich; plain; simple) · tg паст (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ckb نزم (small in height) · bg слаб (not high in amount or quantity) · sv kort (small in height) · rhg niso (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · is lágur (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ja 最低 (despicable) · kea bóxe (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · mi hāro (situated below the normal level) · da lav (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · tr alçak (small in height) · bg прост (humble in character or status) · mi mārū (of pitch) · io basa (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · kea baxu (quiet; soft; not loud) · fr bas (quiet; soft; not loud) · fi matala (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · da nede (depressed, sad) · lv zems (small in height) · lmo bass (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · de niederträchtig (despicable) · br izel (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · fa کوتاه (small in height) · fi ala-arvoinen (despicable) · lv zems (despicable) · sh nizak (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · fi alhainen (not high in amount or quantity) · dsb niski (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · bg ни́сък (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · gld нэктэ (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · uk невисо́кий (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · tl mababa (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · uz past (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · de schwach (not high in amount or quantity) · bg нисък (not high in amount or quantity) · cs nízký (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ko 낮다 (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · he נָמוּךְ (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · km ថោក (not high in amount or quantity) · gd ìosal (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · tr alçak (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · fr bas (despicable) · vi thấp (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · izh matala (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · fi vaatimaton (humble in character or status) · fi hiljainen (quiet; soft; not loud) · ja 静か (quiet; soft; not loud) · cy isel (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ga íseal (small in height) · la humilis (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · uk невисо́кий (small in height) · az alçaq (despicable) · hi नीचा (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ka დაბალი (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · km ទាប (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ja 低い (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · pt baixo (small in height) · fi alhainen (humble in character or status) · ja 小さい (quiet; soft; not loud) · grc χθαμαλός (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · hu halk (quiet; soft; not loud) · ota رذیل (despicable) · bn নিম্ন (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · fr bas (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · nb lav (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ltg zams (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · fi alhainen (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · mrw mababa' (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · alt јабыс (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ccc c̈hijtawa (small in height) · uk низьки́й (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ba тәпәш (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · sv låg (small in height) · el ποταπός (despicable) · ar مُنْخَفِض (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · gd ìseal (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · eo basa (of pitch) · bn নিচু (situated below the normal level) · th ต่ำ (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ru открытый (phonetics: articulated with a low position of part of the tongue in relation to the palate) · kmr nizm (small in height) · la humilis (small in height) · fi alakuloinen (depressed, sad) · hy ցածրահասակ (small in height) · el κατηφής (depressed, sad) · el χαμηλός (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ota آلچاق (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · bg унил (depressed, sad) · ro jos (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · yi נידעריק (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ota آلچاق (situated below the normal level) · fi heikko (lacking health or vitality; feeble; weak) · fax baxiu (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · inh лохе (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · sa अधर (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ky жапыз (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · fi matala (of pitch) · hy ցածր (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · gd ìosal (small in height) · izh matalain (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · tk alçak (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · el κοντός (small in height) · et madal (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · lt žemas (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · fi matala (not high in amount or quantity) · ru по́длый (despicable) · az tutqun (depressed, sad) · de tief (of pitch) · pt vil (despicable) · ru ни́зкий (small in height) · lv zems (not high in amount or quantity) · ext bahu (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · fr grave (of pitch) · grc ταπεινός (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · nl lage (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · hu alacsony (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · grc ταπεινός (despicable) · bg прост (simple in complexity or development) · ru ни́зкий (despicable) · ja 惨め (depressed, sad) · lv zems (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · de niedrig (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ca baix (small in height) · sv nere (depressed, sad) · af laag (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · pl niski (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · fi alhainen (simple in complexity or development) · da lav (small in height) · nl laag (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ccc c̈hijtawa (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · kmr bêmad (depressed, sad) · wyi morrt (small in height) · fa پست (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · fr bas (not high in amount or quantity) · gl baixo (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · es bajo (despicable) · az kədərli (depressed, sad) · es de capa caída (depressed, sad) · bg слаб (lacking health or vitality; feeble; weak) · ba тәпәш (small in height) · fi matala (quiet; soft; not loud) · ru негромкий (quiet; soft; not loud) · bg тих (quiet; soft; not loud) · es bajo (not high in amount or quantity) · sa नीचै (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · fi vaatimaton (humble in character or status) · fi matala (being near the equator) · ota ذلیل (despicable) · ajp واطي (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · sa अधर (despicable) · got 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌽𐍃 (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · sv låg (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · fr faible (not high in amount or quantity) · sa निम्न (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · nl laag (of pitch) · ja 悲しい (depressed, sad) · pt baixo (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ar خافِت (quiet; soft; not loud) · bn নিচু (small in height) · ota آلچاق (despicable) · it basso (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · de niedergeschlagen (depressed, sad) · ru ни́зкий (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · uz boʻyi (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · sk nízky (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · de niedrig (not high in amount or quantity) · fi alhainen (despicable) · bg нисък (situated below the normal level) · ru басистый (of pitch) · kmr nizm (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ug پەس (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · fr abject (despicable) · ast baxu (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · pt baixo (despicable) · ce лоха (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · sq i ulët (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · lv zemisks (despicable) · nap vascio (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · es módico (not high in amount or quantity) · fr faible (lacking health or vitality; feeble; weak) · ba түбән (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · sv låg (situated below the normal level) · fi ala- (phonetics: articulated with a low position of part of the tongue in relation to the palate) · ru низкочастотный (of pitch) · el στα κάτω μου (depressed, sad) · uk невисо́кий (not high in amount or quantity) · sl nizek (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · be ні́зкі (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · gd ìseal (small in height) · az məyus (depressed, sad) · es decaído (depressed, sad) · mnc ᡶᡝᠴᡠᡥᡠᠨ (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · fi matala (small in height) · fr déprimé (depressed, sad) · bn নিম্ন (situated below the normal level) · ang niþerlīċ (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · km ទាប (small in height) · nl diep (of pitch) · fi alhainen (lacking health or vitality; feeble; weak) · az aşağı (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · lbe лагьну (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ru тихий (quiet; soft; not loud) · yue(in a position comparatively close to the ground) · uk низьки́й (small in height) · evn нэптэкун (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ckb نزم (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · my နိမ့် (small in height) · ur نیچا (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · it basso (small in height) · roa-opt baixo (small in height) · fi yksinkertainen (simple in complexity or development) · de leise (quiet; soft; not loud) · es abatido (depressed, sad) · ar مُنْخَفِض (quiet; soft; not loud) · cs nízký (small in height) · kea bóxe (small in height) · lo ຕ່ຳ (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · es cabizbajo (depressed, sad) · gl baixo (small in height) · sq nën (situated below the normal level) · eo malalta (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · km ព្រួយ (depressed, sad) · ota آلچاق (small in height) · dng ди (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · ar حَزين (depressed, sad) · fr bas (small in height) · bg нисък (small in height) · kea baxu (small in height) · kea bóxe (quiet; soft; not loud) · fr petit (not high in amount or quantity) · nn låg (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · my နိမ့်သေ (in a position comparatively close to the ground) · da lav (not high in amount or quantity) · scn vasciu (in a position comparatively close to the ground)

low en · ADV · etymology 1

Pronunciation

  • (US) audio
  • /ˈləʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /ˈloʊ/ (Canada)
  • [ˈloː] (Canada)
  • /ˈlou/ (Wales) without the toe–tow merger
  • /ˈloʊ/ (US)
  • /ˈlo/ (Scotland)
  • /ˈlaː/ (Northumbria, dialectal)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *légʰyeti Proto-Germanic *ligjaną Proto-Germanic *lēgaz Old Norse lágrbor. Middle English lāh English low From Middle English lah, loue, from Old Norse lágr (“low”), from Proto-Germanic *lēgaz (“low; flat”), from *ligjaną (“to lie; to lead”), from Proto-Indo-European *légʰyeti (“to be lying down”), from *legʰ- (“to lie”). Cognates Cognate with Scots laich (“low”), Saterland Frisian läich (“low”), West Frisian leech (“low”), Dutch laag (“low”), German Low German leeg, leeg' (“low; inferior”), West Flemish leeg (“lazy”), Danish lav (“low”), Faroese and Icelandic lágur (“low”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish låg (“low”), Finnish laaka (“flat”), Ingrian laaku (“gentle”); also Irish laigh, luigh (“to lie”), Manx lhie (“lie; lay”), Scottish Gaelic laigh (“lie; lay”), Faliscan 𐌋𐌄𐌂𐌄𐌕 (lecet, “he lies down”), Latin lectus (“bed”), South Picene 𐌅𐌄𐌉𐌀𐌕 (veiat, “to lie”), Ancient Greek λέχομαι (lékhomai, “to lie down”), Albanian lag (“band, encampment, troop”), Belarusian ляжа́ць (ljažácʹ, “to lie”), Bulgarian лежа́ (ležá, “to lie”), Czech ležet (“to lie”), Macedonian лежи (leži, “to lie”), Polish leżeć (“to lie”), Russian лежа́ть (ležátʹ, “to lie”), Serbo-Croatian лѐжати, lèžati (“to lie”), Slovene ležáti (“to lie”), Ukrainian лежа́ти (ležáty, “to lie”), Tocharian B lyäk- (“to lie”). More at lie.

Meanings

  1. Close to the ground.
  2. Of a pitch, at a lower frequency.
    • Can sing both high and low. c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:
  3. With a low voice or sound; not loudly; gently.
    • to speak low
    • [T]he amorous, odorous wind, / Breathes low between the sunset and the moon, […] 1832 December (indicated as 1833), Alfred Tennyson, “Eleanore”, in Poems, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 31:
  4. Under the usual price; at a moderate price; cheaply.
    • He sold his wheat low.
  5. In a low mean condition; humbly; meanly.
    • But ever since the concept of "hamartia" recurred through Aristotle's Poetics, in an attempt to describe man's ingrained iniquity, our impulse has been to identify a telling defect in those brought suddenly and dramatically low. 2014 October 21, Oliver Brown, “Oscar Pistorius jailed for five years – sport afforded no protection against his tragic fallibilities: Bladerunner's punishment for killing Reeva Steenkamp is but a frippery when set against the burden that her bereft parents, June and Barry, must carry [print version: No room for sentimentality in this tragedy, 13 September 2014, p. S22]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Sport):
  6. In a time approaching our own.
    • In that part of the world which was first inhabited, […] even as low down as Abraham's time, they wandered with their flocks and herds. 1689 December (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], Two Treatises of Government: […], London: […] Awnsham Churchill, […], →OCLC:
  7. In a path near the equator, so that the declination is small, or near the horizon, so that the altitude is small; said of the heavenly bodies with reference to the diurnal revolution.
    • The moon runs low, i.e. comparatively near the horizon when on or near the meridian.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
lowest Degree=Sup lexicographic
lower Degree=Cmp lexicographic

Deriveds

lie low (Terms derived from low (adverb)) · low-lying (Terms derived from low (adverb)) · run low (Terms derived from low (adverb)) · low-riding (Terms derived from low (adverb)) · see-low (Terms derived from low (adverb)) · lowborn (Terms derived from low (adverb)) · low-slung (Terms derived from low (adverb)) · low-flying (Terms derived from low (adverb)) · low-enriched uranium (Terms derived from low (adverb)) · high and low (Terms derived from low (adverb)) · lay low (Terms derived from low (adverb)) · low-born (Terms derived from low (adverb)) · low-ranking (Terms derived from low (adverb)) · low-rider (Terms derived from low (adverb)) · low-hanging (Terms derived from low (adverb)) · low-bred (Terms derived from low (adverb)) · lowbred (Terms derived from low (adverb)) · low-priced (Terms derived from low (adverb)) · low-pitched (Terms derived from low (adverb)) · low-cut (Terms derived from low (adverb))

Translations (31)

fi matala (close to the ground) · pt baixo (close to the ground) · cs nízko (close to the ground) · lv zemi (close to the ground) · fi halvalla (at a low price) · es bajo (with a low voice or sound) · el χαμηλά (close to the ground) · de tief (close to the ground) · lv zemu (close to the ground) · fi matala (at a lower frequency) · dsb nisko (close to the ground) · lv zemu (at a lower frequency) · lv zemu (with a low voice or sound) · es bajo (at a lower frequency) · de leise (with a low voice or sound) · bg евтино (at a low price) · de tief (at a lower frequency) · bg ниско (close to the ground) · lv zemi (at a lower frequency) · el χαμηλά (at a lower frequency) · ca baix (with a low voice or sound) · lv zemi (with a low voice or sound) · fi hiljaa (with a low voice or sound) · ca baix (at a lower frequency) · pt baixo (with a low voice or sound) · bg тихо (with a low voice or sound) · nv wóyah (close to the ground) · es bajo (close to the ground) · cs nízko (at a lower frequency) · tr düşük (with a low voice or sound) · ca baix (close to the ground)

low en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

  • (US) audio
  • /ˈləʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /ˈloʊ/ (Canada)
  • [ˈloː] (Canada)
  • /ˈlou/ (Wales) without the toe–tow merger
  • /ˈloʊ/ (US)
  • /ˈlo/ (Scotland)
  • /ˈlaː/ (Northumbria, dialectal)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *légʰyeti Proto-Germanic *ligjaną Proto-Germanic *lēgaz Old Norse lágrbor. Middle English lāh English low From Middle English lah, loue, from Old Norse lágr (“low”), from Proto-Germanic *lēgaz (“low; flat”), from *ligjaną (“to lie; to lead”), from Proto-Indo-European *légʰyeti (“to be lying down”), from *legʰ- (“to lie”). Cognates Cognate with Scots laich (“low”), Saterland Frisian läich (“low”), West Frisian leech (“low”), Dutch laag (“low”), German Low German leeg, leeg' (“low; inferior”), West Flemish leeg (“lazy”), Danish lav (“low”), Faroese and Icelandic lágur (“low”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish låg (“low”), Finnish laaka (“flat”), Ingrian laaku (“gentle”); also Irish laigh, luigh (“to lie”), Manx lhie (“lie; lay”), Scottish Gaelic laigh (“lie; lay”), Faliscan 𐌋𐌄𐌂𐌄𐌕 (lecet, “he lies down”), Latin lectus (“bed”), South Picene 𐌅𐌄𐌉𐌀𐌕 (veiat, “to lie”), Ancient Greek λέχομαι (lékhomai, “to lie down”), Albanian lag (“band, encampment, troop”), Belarusian ляжа́ць (ljažácʹ, “to lie”), Bulgarian лежа́ (ležá, “to lie”), Czech ležet (“to lie”), Macedonian лежи (leži, “to lie”), Polish leżeć (“to lie”), Russian лежа́ть (ležátʹ, “to lie”), Serbo-Croatian лѐжати, lèžati (“to lie”), Slovene ležáti (“to lie”), Ukrainian лежа́ти (ležáty, “to lie”), Tocharian B lyäk- (“to lie”). More at lie.

Meanings

  1. A low point or position, literally (as, a depth) or figuratively (as, a nadir, a time when things are at their worst, least, minimum, etc).
    • You have achieved a new low in behavior, Frank.
    • Unemployment has reached a ten-year low.
    • During the 1960s and 1970s, when both the quality of architecture and the appreciation of historic buildings reached an all-time low, British Railways was notorious for replacing good station buildings and canopies with little more than bus shelters, usually in conjunction with de-staffing. 2020 December 2, Anthony Lambert, “Reimagining Railway Stations”, in Rail, page 38:
    • Economic growth has hit a new low.
    • He also called for the US and China to rebuild their fractured relationship, which has plunged to new lows this year, but which Guterres said was “crucial” to climate action. 2022 November 4, Fiona Harvey, “UN chief warns ‘we will be doomed’ without historic climate pact”, in The Guardian:
  2. A low point or position, literally (as, a depth) or figuratively (as, a nadir, a time when things are at their worst, least, minimum, etc). ▸ The minimum atmospheric temperature recorded at a particular location, especially during one 24-hour period.
    • Today's low was 32 °F.
    • A cold one out there today, with lows reaching 33 degrees.
  3. A period of depression; a depressed mood or situation.
    • He is in a low right now. the highs and lows of bipolar disorder
  4. (informal) An area of low pressure; a depression.
    • A deep low is centred over the British Isles.
  5. The lowest-speed gearing of a power-transmission system, especially of an automotive vehicle.
    • Shift out of low before the car gets to eight miles per hour.
  6. The lowest trump, usually the deuce; the lowest trump dealt or drawn.
  7. (accompanied by "the", slang, usually) A cheap, cost-efficient, or advantageous price.
    • He got the brand new Yankees jersey for the low.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
lows Number=Plur lexicographic

Deriveds

Icelandic Low (Terms derived from low (noun)) · logic low (Terms derived from low (noun)) · hybrid low (Terms derived from low (noun)) · Arctic low (Terms derived from low (noun)) · Colorado low (Terms derived from low (noun)) · Kona low (Terms derived from low (noun)) · Genoa low (Terms derived from low (noun)) · Holme Low (Terms derived from low (noun)) · all-time low (Terms derived from low (noun)) · Aleutian Low (Terms derived from low (noun)) · thermal low (Terms derived from low (noun)) · warm-core low (Terms derived from low (noun)) · upper-level low (Terms derived from low (noun)) · cold low (Terms derived from low (noun)) · cold-core low (Terms derived from low (noun)) · heat low (Terms derived from low (noun)) · wake low (Terms derived from low (noun)) · polar low (Terms derived from low (noun))

Translations (30)

fi ykkönen (lowest-speed gearing of a power-transmission system) · nb lavtrykk (area of low pressure) · el χαμηλό (something that is low) · fr dépression (area of low pressure) · nn lågtrykk (area of low pressure) · fi matala (area of low pressure) · bg първа скорост (lowest-speed gearing of a power-transmission system) · cs minimum (something that is low) · fr dépression (depressed mood or situation) · bg униние (depressed mood or situation) · is lágþrýstisvæði (area of low pressure) · no lågtrykksområde (area of low pressure) · nl depressie (area of low pressure) · el χαμηλό (area of low pressure) · es bajón (depressed mood or situation) · de Tiefdruckgebiet (area of low pressure) · nl lagedrukgebied (area of low pressure) · de Tief (area of low pressure) · el πρώτη (lowest-speed gearing of a power-transmission system) · sv lågvattenmärke (something that is low) · fi pohja (something that is low) · fr première (lowest-speed gearing of a power-transmission system) · cs tlaková níže (area of low pressure) · fi alakulo (depressed mood or situation) · eo malaltejo (something that is low) · fi ykkösvaihde (lowest-speed gearing of a power-transmission system) · cs nejnižší úroveň (something that is low) · fi matalapaine (area of low pressure) · fr basse pression (area of low pressure) · el ναδίρ (something that is low)

Source: en.wiktionary, “low” (noun), dump 20260902, contributors via the page history. Text licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

low en · VERB · etymology 1

Pronunciation

  • (US) audio
  • /ˈləʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /ˈloʊ/ (Canada)
  • [ˈloː] (Canada)
  • /ˈlou/ (Wales) without the toe–tow merger
  • /ˈloʊ/ (US)
  • /ˈlo/ (Scotland)
  • /ˈlaː/ (Northumbria, dialectal)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *légʰyeti Proto-Germanic *ligjaną Proto-Germanic *lēgaz Old Norse lágrbor. Middle English lāh English low From Middle English lah, loue, from Old Norse lágr (“low”), from Proto-Germanic *lēgaz (“low; flat”), from *ligjaną (“to lie; to lead”), from Proto-Indo-European *légʰyeti (“to be lying down”), from *legʰ- (“to lie”). Cognates Cognate with Scots laich (“low”), Saterland Frisian läich (“low”), West Frisian leech (“low”), Dutch laag (“low”), German Low German leeg, leeg' (“low; inferior”), West Flemish leeg (“lazy”), Danish lav (“low”), Faroese and Icelandic lágur (“low”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish låg (“low”), Finnish laaka (“flat”), Ingrian laaku (“gentle”); also Irish laigh, luigh (“to lie”), Manx lhie (“lie; lay”), Scottish Gaelic laigh (“lie; lay”), Faliscan 𐌋𐌄𐌂𐌄𐌕 (lecet, “he lies down”), Latin lectus (“bed”), South Picene 𐌅𐌄𐌉𐌀𐌕 (veiat, “to lie”), Ancient Greek λέχομαι (lékhomai, “to lie down”), Albanian lag (“band, encampment, troop”), Belarusian ляжа́ць (ljažácʹ, “to lie”), Bulgarian лежа́ (ležá, “to lie”), Czech ležet (“to lie”), Macedonian лежи (leži, “to lie”), Polish leżeć (“to lie”), Russian лежа́ть (ležátʹ, “to lie”), Serbo-Croatian лѐжати, lèžati (“to lie”), Slovene ležáti (“to lie”), Ukrainian лежа́ти (ležáty, “to lie”), Tocharian B lyäk- (“to lie”). More at lie.

Meanings

  1. (obsolete, transitive) To lower; to make low.
    • She was quite free of bad inventions, / But was a bitch o high pretenfions, / For the grit folk o' a dimensions, / Ran for her breed; / Dog-officers may low their pensions, / Since Venie's dead, 'Twas past the art o'man to cure her, / […] 1807, James Ruickbie, The Way-side Cottager; … Miscellaneous Poems, page 178:
    • I shall only say this, that all the other graces must low the sail to faith, and so it is faith must carry us through, being that last triumphing grace, […] 1654 (edition of 1762), Andrew Gray, The Works of … Andrew Gray [Edited by R. Trail and J. Stirling], page 112
    • Now to use these as Hypotheseis, as himself in his Word, is pleas'd to low himself to our capacities, is allowable: 1661 (edition of 1885), Joseph Glanvill, Scepsis Scientifica: … Vanity of Dogmatizing, page 85
    • Dat 'ill be somtin' ta hise an' low wi' a ütterly breeze. 1899 May 6, Shetland News:
    • The merry fowks that were the ben, / By this time 'gan to low their strain 1790, Andrew Shirrefs, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, page 219:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
lowed Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
lowed Tense=Past lexicographic
lows Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
lowing Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
Source: en.wiktionary, “low” (verb), dump 20260902, contributors via the page history. Text licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

low en · VERB · etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • /ˈləʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /ˈloʊ/ (US)

Etymology

From Middle English lough, from Old English hlōh, first and third person singular preterite of hliehhan (“to laugh”). More at laugh.

Meanings

  1. (form-of, obsolete, past) simple past of laugh.
    form of laugh
Source: en.wiktionary, “low” (verb), dump 20260902, contributors via the page history. Text licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

low en · VERB · etymology 3

Pronunciation

  • (US) audio
  • /ləʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /loʊ/ (US)

Etymology

From Middle English lowen (“to low”), from Old English hlōwan (“to low; to bellow; to roar”), from Proto-Germanic *hlōaną (“to call; shout”), from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (“to call”). Cognate with Dutch loeien (“to low”), Middle High German lüejen (“to roar”), dialectal Swedish lumma (“to roar”), Latin calō (“to call”), Ancient Greek καλέω (kaléō), Latin clāmō (“to shout, claim”). More at claim.

Meanings

  1. (intransitive) To moo.
    • In peals of thunder now she roars--and now / She gently whimpers like a lowing cow 1726, Jonathan Swift, “The Lamentations of Glumdalclitch for the Loss of Grildrig”, in Gulliver's Travels, A Voyage to Brobdingnag:
    • The cattle were lowing.
    • It would have been a great privilege to be the mistress of an old time-honoured mansion, to call oaks and elms her own, to know that acres of gardens were submitted to her caprices, to look at herds of cows and oxen, and be aware that they lowed on her own pastures. 1869 May, Anthony Trollope, “The Honourable Mr. Glascock”, in He Knew He Was Right, volume I, London: Strahan and Company, […], →OCLC, page 107:
    • The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea. 1750, Thomas Gray, Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
lows Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
lowed Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
lowed Tense=Past lexicographic
lowing Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
Source: en.wiktionary, “low” (verb), dump 20260902, contributors via the page history. Text licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

low en · NOUN · etymology 4

Pronunciation

  • /ləʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /loʊ/ (US)

Etymology

From Middle English lowe, loghe, from Old Norse logi (“fire, flame, sword”), from Proto-Germanic *lugô (“flame, blaze”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“light”). Cognate with Icelandic logi (“flame”), Swedish låga (“flame”), Danish lue (“flame”), German Lohe (“blaze, flames”), North Frisian leag (“fire, flame”), Old English līeġ (“fire, flame, lightning”). More at More at leye and More at light.

Meanings

  1. (Scotland, UK, countable, dialectal) A flame; fire; blaze.
    • And methought the whole world was lighted in a lowe, and with a great cry I awoke out of the dream. 1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 19:
    • A boy fell aff his chair a' in a low, for the discharge had set him on fire […] 1843, John Wilson, The Noctes Ambrosianœ of "Blackwood"., page 478:
    • […] and he was sure to light of a verse blazing wi' a blue brimstone low that set all straight. 1849, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], “Mr. Yorke (continued)”, in Shirley. A Tale. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC, page 76:
    • She was, as one of them expressed himself, in a light low (bright flame) when they observed a king's ship, with her colours up, heave in sight from behind the cape. The guns of the burning vessel discharged themselves […] 1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], →OCLC, page 85:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
lows Number=Plur lexicographic
lowe alternative lexicographic
Source: en.wiktionary, “low” (noun), dump 20260902, contributors via the page history. Text licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

low en · VERB · etymology 4

Pronunciation

  • /ləʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /loʊ/ (US)

Etymology

From Middle English lowe, loghe, from Old Norse logi (“fire, flame, sword”), from Proto-Germanic *lugô (“flame, blaze”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“light”). Cognate with Icelandic logi (“flame”), Swedish låga (“flame”), Danish lue (“flame”), German Lohe (“blaze, flames”), North Frisian leag (“fire, flame”), Old English līeġ (“fire, flame, lightning”). More at More at leye and More at light.

Meanings

  1. (Scotland, UK, dialectal) To burn; to blaze.
    • Sand, striking a light with his flint and steel, and transferring the flame when it lowed up to the bowl of his tiny elf's pipe, so small that it just let in the top of his little finger as he settled the tobacco in it as it began to burn. 1894, Samuel Rutherford Crockett, The Raiders, page 82:
    • They scarcely left to co'er their fuds, To quench their lowan drouth. 1785, Robert Burns, The Jolly Beggars:
    • […] in every crevice; and each individual brick shone and “lowed” with the intense heat. “As I am a Christian man,” thought he, “this is verily the mouth of the pit; and I am lost — lost for ever, for —” 1870, Edward Peacock, Ralf Skirlaugh, the Lincolnshire Squire: A Novel, page 197:
    • Driest wood will eithest low, 1724 (edition of 1788), Allan Ramsay, The Tea-Table Miscellany, page 23
    • The next I saw, James parried a thrust so nearly that I thought him killed; and it lowed up in my mind that this was the girl's father, and in a manner almost my own, and I drew and ran in to sever them. 1895, Robert Louis Stevenson, Works, page 382:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
lowing Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
lowed Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
lowed Tense=Past lexicographic
lowe alternative lexicographic
lows Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
Source: en.wiktionary, “low” (verb), dump 20260902, contributors via the page history. Text licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

low en · NOUN · etymology 5

Pronunciation

  • (US) audio
  • /ləʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /loʊ/ (US)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- Proto-Indo-European *-éyti Proto-Indo-European *ḱley-der. Proto-Indo-European *ḱloy-wo-m Proto-Germanic *hlaiwą Proto-West Germanic *hlaiw Old English hlǣw Middle English lowe English low From Middle English lowe, from Old English hlāw, hlǣw (“burial mound”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlaiw. Obsolete by the 19th century, survives in toponymy as -low.

Meanings

  1. (archaic, obsolete) Barrow, mound, tumulus.
    • A barrow or Low, such as were usually cast up over the bodies of eminent Captains. 1686, Robert Plot, The natural history of Staffordshire:
  2. (Scottish, archaic, dialectal) A hill.
    • And some they brought the brown lint-seed, and flung it down from the Low. 1847, Mary Howitt, Ballads and other poems:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
lows Number=Plur lexicographic
lawe alternative lexicographic
Source: en.wiktionary, “low” (noun), dump 20260902, contributors via the page history. Text licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

low en · VERB · etymology 6

Pronunciation

  • /laʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation, US)

Etymology

Apheretic form of allow.

Meanings

  1. (alt-of, alternative) Alternative form of 'low.
    alt of 'low

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
lowed Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
lowed Tense=Past lexicographic
lows Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
lowing Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic