lower

¹ American  

[loh-er] / ˈloʊ ər /

verb (used with object)

1. to cause to descend; let or put down.

   to lower a flag.

   Synonyms:

   depress, drop

2. to make lower in height or level.

   to lower the water in a canal.

3. to reduce in amount, price, degree, force, etc.

   Synonyms:

   lessen, diminish, decrease

   Antonyms:

   increase, raise, raise

4. to make less loud.

   Please lower your voice.

   Synonyms:

   soften

5. to bring down in rank or estimation; degrade; humble; abase (oneself), as by some sacrifice of self-respect or dignity.

   His bad actions lowered him in my eyes.

   Synonyms:

   debase, disgrace, dishonor, humiliate

   Antonyms:

   ennoble, elevate

6. Music. to make lower in pitch; flatten.

7. Phonetics. to alter the articulation of (a vowel) by increasing the distance of the tongue downward from the palate.

   The vowel of “clerk” is lowered to (ä) in the British pronunciation.

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verb (used without object)

1. to become lower, grow less, or diminish, as in amount, intensity, or degree.

   The brook lowers in early summer. Stock prices rise and lower constantly.

2. to descend; sink.

   the sun lowering in the west.

adjective

1. comparative of low.

2. of or relating to those portions of a river farthest from the source.

3. (often initial capital letter) noting an early division of a period, system, or the like.

   the Lower Devonian.

noun

1. a denture for the lower jaw.

2. a lower berth.

lower ² American  

[lou-er, lou^uhr] / ˈlaʊ ər, laʊər /

Also lour

verb (used without object)

1. to be dark and threatening, as the sky or the weather.

   Synonyms:

   threaten, darken

2. to frown, scowl, or look sullen; glower.

   He lowers at people when he's in a bad mood.

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noun

1. a dark, threatening appearance, as of the sky or weather.

2. a frown or scowl.

lower ¹ British  

/ ˈlaʊə /

verb

1. (esp of the sky, weather, etc) to be overcast, dark, and menacing

2. to scowl or frown

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noun

1. a menacing scowl or appearance

lower ² British  

/ ˈləʊə /

adjective

1. being below one or more other things

   the lower shelf

   the lower animals

2. reduced in amount or value

   a lower price

3. maths (of a limit or bound) less than or equal to one or more numbers or variables

4. (sometimes capital) geology denoting the early part or division of a period, system, formation, etc

   Lower Silurian

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verb

1. (tr) to cause to become low or on a lower level; bring, put, or cause to move down

2. (tr) to reduce or bring down in estimation, dignity, value, etc

   to lower oneself

3. to reduce or be reduced

   to lower one's confidence

4. (tr) to make quieter

   to lower the radio

5. (tr) to reduce the pitch of

6. (tr) phonetics to modify the articulation of (a vowel) by bringing the tongue further away from the roof of the mouth

7. (intr) to diminish or become less

lower Scientific  

/ lō′ər /

1. Being an earlier division of the geological or archaeological period named.

2. Compare upper

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Other Word Forms

• lowerable adjective
• lowering adjective
• loweringly adverb

Etymology

Origin of lower¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English, comparative of low ¹ (adjective)

Origin of lower¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English verb louren “to frown, lurk”; akin to German lauern, Dutch loeren; lurk

Example Sentences

Treasurys sold off gently on Friday, but not enough to erase their gains on a week that sent Treasury yields lower as 2025’s business calendar winds down.

From The Wall Street Journal

In the lower half, Marat reclines in a coffin-like bath, topped with a board and a green cloth.

From The Wall Street Journal

This month the SEC agreed to scrap the settlement, citing a need for “lower compliance friction.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Another familiar objection is framed as an accounting exercise: The effective tariff burden can be made lower than the headline rate if firms substitute products, re-source suppliers or alter configurations.

From The Wall Street Journal

However, they also had lower intakes of energy, protein, fat, vitamin B12, and zinc.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• curtail
• cut
• cut down
• decrease
• depreciate
• devalue
• diminish
• downgrade
• knock off
• lessen
• pare
• scale down
• slash
• soften