nadir
Americannoun
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Astronomy. the point on the celestial sphere directly beneath a given position or observer and diametrically opposite the zenith.
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Astrology. the point of a horoscope opposite the midheaven: the cusp of the fourth house.
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the lowest point; point of greatest adversity or despair.
noun
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the point on the celestial sphere directly below an observer and diametrically opposite the zenith
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the lowest or deepest point; depths
the nadir of despair
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The point on the celestial sphere that is directly below the observer (90 degrees below the celestial horizon).
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Compare zenith
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of nadir
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English nadir, nader, nadair, from Middle French nadir “point opposite the zenith,” from Medieval Latin nadir “point opposite the sun,” from Arabic naẓīr (as-samt) “opposite (the zenith)”; see also zenith ( def. )
Explanation
If a highly forgetful person loses his phone, his wallet, and then his car keys in separate instances all in one day, you could say that he has reached an organizational nadir. This means “lowest point.” This was originally strictly an astronomical term and is the opposite of the word zenith, which is the part of the sky located directly above a person’s head or, “high point.” In fact, nadir is derived from the Arabic nazir, which means “opposite to.” It is still used in astronomy to indicate the part of the celestial sphere located directly below an observer, but also more generally to describe the worst point of someone’s life or career.
Vocabulary lists containing nadir
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Celestial Words To Mark The Winter Solstice
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From Ascension to Zenith: Astronomy and Stargazing Terms
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He and another victim, Nadir Awad, had run toward the mosque and were on the phone, hiding behind cars in the parking lot, trying to reach out to police.
From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026
OceanXplorer's Neptune submersible is designed for scientific collection and observation, while its Nadir vessel has high-end cameras and lights for media content.
From Barron's • Jan. 26, 2026
“Overall, oil remains in a tug-of-war phase,” XMArabia’s Nadir Belbarka writes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 3, 2025
Dr. Uisdean Nicholson of Heriot-Watt University first identified the Nadir Crater in 2022 while examining seismic reflection data from the Atlantic seabed off the coast of Guinea in West Africa.
From Science Daily • Oct. 27, 2025
It was on this soil that my grandfather had gone on a hunting trip with King Nadir Shah and shot a deer.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
