below

[ bih-loh ]
See synonyms for below on Thesaurus.com
adverb
  1. in or toward a lower place: Look out below!

  2. on, in, or toward a lower level, as a lower deck of a ship:The captain of the ship went below.

  1. beneath the surface of the water: Divers were sent below to view the wreck.

  2. on earth: the fate of creatures here below.

  3. in hell or the infernal regions.

  4. at a later point on a page or in a text: See the illustration below.: Compare above (def. 5).

  5. in a lower rank or grade: He was demoted to the class below.

  6. under zero on the temperature scale: The temperature in Buffalo was ten below this morning.

  7. Theater. downstage.: Compare above (def. 8).

  8. Zoology. on the lower or ventral side.

preposition
  1. lower down than: below the knee.

  2. lower in rank, degree, amount, rate, etc., than: below cost;below freezing.

  1. too low or undignified to be worthy of; beneath: He considered such an action below his notice.

  2. Theater. downstage of: There are two chairs below the table.

Origin of below

1
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English bilooghe; equivalent to be- + low1

synonym study For below

11. Below, under, beneath indicate position in some way lower than something else. Below implies being in a lower plane: below the horizon, the water line. Under implies being lower in a perpendicular line: The book is under the chair. Beneath may have a meaning similar to below, but more usually denotes being under so as to be covered, overhung, or overtopped: the pool beneath the falls.

Words Nearby below

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

How to use below in a sentence

  • Before the spinet a bench was placed about four feet below the keys, and I was put upon the bench.

    Gulliver's Travels | Jonathan Swift
  • I have drawn a Line between the figures at the extream changes, that next below the Line is the extream.

    Tintinnalogia, or, the Art of Ringing | Richard Duckworth and Fabian Stedman
  • The left heel followed like lightning, and the right paw also slipped, letting the bear again fall heavily on the ice below.

    The Giant of the North | R.M. Ballantyne
  • While the door was open he caught a glimpse of the street outside—and of Glavis on the sidewalk below.

    The Homesteader | Oscar Micheaux
  • After looking for them in vain down below he had feared that they might have found their way into the open air.

    The Tale of Grandfather Mole | Arthur Scott Bailey

British Dictionary definitions for below

below

/ (bɪˈləʊ) /


preposition
  1. at or to a position lower than; under

  2. less than in quantity or degree

  1. south of

  2. downstream of

  3. unworthy of; beneath

adverb
  1. at or to a lower position or place

  2. at a later place (in something written): see below

  1. archaic beneath heaven; on earth or in hell

Origin of below

1
C14: bilooghe, from bi by + looghe low 1

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