low

low 1 |ləʊ|

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adjective

!1 of less than average height from top to bottom or to the top from the ground: the school is a long, low building | a low table.

• situated not far above the ground, the horizon, or sea level: the sun was low in the sky.

• located at or near the bottom of something: low back pain | he smashed a pane low down in the window.

• (of women's clothing) cut so as to reveal the neck and the upper part of the breasts: the low neckline of her blouse | [ in combination ] : a low-cut black dress.

• (of latitude) near the equator. the warming effect will be greatest at low latitudes.

• Phonetics (of a vowel) pronounced with the tongue held low in the mouth; open.

2 below average in amount, extent, or intensity: bringing up children on a low income | borrowing fell to a low level | cook over low heat.

!• (of a river or lake) below the usual water level. the river was low.

• (of a substance or food) containing smaller quantities than usual of a specified ingredient:

vegetables are low in calories | [ in combination ] : low-fat spreads.

• (of a supply) small or reduced in quantity: food and ammunition were running low.

• having a small or reduced quantity of a supply: they were low on fuel.

3 ranking below other people or things in importance or class: jobs with low status | training will be given low priority.

• (of art or culture) considered to be inferior in quality and refinement: the dual traditions of high and low art.

• less good than is expected or desired; inferior: the standard of living is low.

• unscrupulous or dishonest: practise a little low cunning.

• (of an opinion) unfavourable. he had a low opinion of himself.

4 (of a sound or voice) not loud or high: keep the volume very low | his low, husky voice.

5 depressed or lacking in energy: I was feeling low.

noun

1 a low point, level, or figure: his popularity ratings are at an all-time low.

• an area of low barometric pressure; a depression.
The weatherman talked about highs and lows.

2 a difficult time in a person's life: the highs and lows of an actor's life.

!• informal a state of depression. she doesn't have big highs or big lows.

adverb

1 in or into a low position or state: she pressed on, bent low to protect her face.

2 in a low voice or at a low pitch: we were talking low so we wouldn't wake Dean.

PHRASES

the lowest of the low the people regarded as the most immoral or socially inferior of all. child molesters are the lowest of the low.

DERIVATIVES

lowish adjective,

lowness noun

ORIGIN Middle English: from Old Norse lágr, of

Germanic origin; related to Dutch laag, also to lie 1 .

low 

adjective

1 a low fence: short, small, little; squat, stubby, stunted, truncated, dwarfish, knee-high; shallow. ANTONYMS high.

2 a narrow tract of low land: low-lying, ground-level, sea-level, flat; sunken, depressed, subsided, nether.ANTONYMS high.

3 the low neckline of her blouse: low-cut, skimpy,revealing; plunging.

4 grain prices are still low: cheap, inexpensive, low priced, low-cost, economical, moderate, reasonable, modest, bargain, cut-price, bargain-basement, rock bottom. ANTONYMS expensive, high.

5 her money supplies were low: scarce, scanty, scant, skimpy, meagre, sparse, few, little, paltry, measly, trifling; reduced, depleted, diminished; deficient, inadequate, insufficient. ANTONYMS plentiful, abundant.

6 much of the work was of a very low standard: inferior, substandard, poor, bad, low-grade, low-quality, below par, second-rate, inadequate, unacceptable, unsatisfactory, deficient, defective; wanting, lacking, leaving much to be desired. ANTONYMS superior, high.

7 a woman of low birth | a man low in the social scale: humble, lowly, low-born, low-bred, low-ranking, plebeian, proletarian, peasant, poor; common, ordinary,simple, plain, unpretentious; inferior, subordinate.ANTONYMS noble, superior.

8 adults have low expectations of children's ability to explain things: unambitious, unaspiring, modest.ANTONYMS high, ambitious.

9 most Americans have a low opinion of New York City: unfavourable, poor, bad, adverse, negative, hostile.ANTONYMS good, favourable, high.

10 she considered it a rather low thing to have done:despicable, contemptible, reprehensible, lamentable, disgusting, shameful, mean, abject, unworthy, shabby, uncharitable, base, dishonourable, unprincipled, ignoble, sordid, wretched; nasty, cruel, foul, bad,wrong, immoral, vile; informal rotten, beastly, low-down; archaic dastardly, scurvy. ANTONYMS admirable, decent.

11 down-at-heel theatres that put on low comedy: crude, coarse, vulgar, indecent, ribald, smutty, bawdy,suggestive, off colour, rude, rough, unrefined,indelicate, improper; gross, obscene, pornographic,offensive, profane, filthy, dirty; informal blue.ANTONYMS high, exalted.

12 he was speaking in a low voice: quiet, soft, faint, muted, subdued, muffled, hushed, quietened,

whispered, stifled, murmured, gentle, dulcet, indistinct, inaudible. ANTONYMS loud.

13 going from a low note to a high note without using valves is difficult: bass, low-pitched, deep, deep-toned, low-toned, full-toned, resonant, rich, rumbling,booming, resounding, sonorous.

14 Fran felt low and unhappy: depressed, dejected, despondent, downhearted, downcast, low-spirited,

down, sorrowful, gloomy, glum, unhappy, sad, melancholy, blue, fed up, morose, moody, miserable,

dismal, heavy-hearted, mournful, forlorn, woebegone;
disheartened, discouraged, crestfallen, dispirited,without energy, enervated, flat, sapped, weary; ill,

unwell, poorly, out of sorts; informal down in the mouth, down in the dumps; Brit. informal brassed off, cheesed off. ANTONYMS cheerful.

noun

the news caused the dollar to fall to an all-time low: nadir, low point, lowest point, all-time low, lowest level, low-water mark, bottom, rock bottom. ANTONYMS zenith,acme.

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