alow

1
[ uh-loh ]

adverbNautical.
  1. below decks.

  2. (on a square-rigged sailing ship) in the lower rigging, specifically, below the lower yards (opposed to aloft).

Origin of alow

1
1350–1400; earlier, downward, lower down, Middle English aloue;see a-1, low1

Words Nearby alow

Other definitions for alow (2 of 2)

alow2

or a·lowe

[ uh-loh ]

adjective, adverbNorthern British Dialect.
  1. ablaze; aflame.

Origin of alow

2
1150–1200; Middle English o loghe, a lowe;see a-1, low3

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use alow in a sentence

  • They were all under plain sail aloft and alow—27 sail of the line, frigates and steamers.

    The British Expedition to the Crimea | William Howard Russell
  • All canvas up, aloft an alow, an this here craft ready to make two knots an hour ef she dont founder afore you leave port!

    Cursed | George Allan England
  • Youd better look around, alow and aloft, and see if she aint to be found.

  • Sayer, as apereth per Cuemons owne hand writing; yet he will not alow thereof, but went away in a fustian fume.

  • In the morning Miwandi's berth was discovered to be empty,—no trace of her was found alow or aloft.

    Brothers of Peril | Theodore Goodridge Roberts

British Dictionary definitions for alow

alow

/ (əˈləʊ) /


adverb, adjective
  1. (postpositive) nautical in or into the lower rigging of a vessel, near the deck

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012