bottom

[ bot-uhm ]
See synonyms for: bottombottomedbottomingbottoms on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. the lowest or deepest part of anything, as distinguished from the top: the bottom of a hill;the bottom of a page;the tea leaves at the bottom of my cup.

  2. the under or lower side; underside: The sell-by date is printed on the bottom of the package.

  1. the ground under any body of water: The study sent a camera to the bottom of the sea.

  2. Usually bottoms .Also called bottom land .Physical Geography. low alluvial land next to a river.

  3. Informal. the buttocks; rump.

  4. the seat of a chair: Don't sit in that one, the bottom is broken.

  5. the fundamental part; basic aspect.

  6. the cause; origin; basis: Try getting to the bottom of the problem.

  7. lowest limit, especially of dignity, status, or rank: When people sink that low, they're bound to reach the bottom soon.

  8. bottoms, (used with a plural verb) the bottom part of a two-piece article of clothing, such as a bathing suit or a pair of pajamas.

  9. Baseball.

    • the second half of an inning.

    • the last three players in the batting order.

  10. Nautical.

    • the part of a hull between the bilges, including the keel.

    • the part of a hull that is immersed at all times.

    • the cargo space in a vessel.

    • a cargo vessel.

  11. the working part of a plow, comprising the plowshare, landside, and moldboard.

  12. Slang. : Compare top1 (def. 19). See also vers.

    • (in the LGBTQ community) a person who prefers to take or is currently taking a receptive role in a particular sexual act, especially in anal intercourse.

    • (especially in BDSM) a person who prefers to take or is currently taking a submissive role in a sexual relationship.

  13. Usually bottoms .Chemistry. the heaviest, least volatile fraction of petroleum, left behind in distillation after more volatile fractions are driven off.

verb (used with object)
  1. to furnish with an under or lowest side: The oven needed to be bottomed before it could be used.

  2. to base or found (usually followed by on or upon): A defense must be bottomed on reliable evidence.

  1. to discover the full meaning of (something); fathom.

  2. to bring (a submarine) to rest on the ocean floor: They had to bottom the sub until the enemy cruisers had passed by.

verb (used without object)
  1. to be based; rest.

  2. to strike against the bottom or end; reach the bottom.

  1. (of an automotive vehicle) to sink vertically, as when bouncing after passing over a bump, so that the suspension reaches the lower limit of its motion: The car bottomed too easily on the bumpy road.

  2. Slang. : Compare top1 (def. 41). See also vers.

    • (in the LGBTQ community) to take a receptive role in a particular sexual act, especially in anal intercourse.

    • (especially in BDSM) to take a submissive role in a sexual relationship or encounter.

adjective
  1. of or relating to the bottom or a bottom.

  2. located on or at the lowest part or side: I want the bottom book in the stack.

  1. lowest: They sold off the last of the stock at bottom prices.

  2. living near or on the bottom: A flounder is a bottom fish.

  3. fundamental: The bottom cause of the issue is a lack of funding.

Verb Phrases
  1. bottom out, to reach the lowest state or level: The declining securities market finally bottomed out and began to rise.

Idioms about bottom

  1. at bottom, in reality; fundamentally: They knew at bottom that they were only deceiving themselves.: Also at the bottom .

  2. bet one's bottom dollar,

    • to wager the last of one's money or resources.

    • to be positive or assured: You can bet your bottom dollar that something will prevent us from leaving on time.

  1. bottoms up, (used as an interjection to announce or urge the downing of one's drink).

  2. hit bottom, to fall into the worst of all possible circumstances: After all those years of flying high, she finally hit bottom.When the housing market crashed, it really hit bottom, leaving people with houses worth less than their mortgages.

Origin of bottom

1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English botme, Old English botm; akin to Old Norse botn, Dutch bodem, German Boden; cognate with Latin fundus, Greek pythmḗn, Sanskrit budhná

Other words for bottom

Other words from bottom

  • un·bot·tom, verb (used with object)
  • un·der·bot·tom, noun

Words Nearby bottom

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

How to use bottom in a sentence

  • But, as the keel of the boats touched bottom, each boat-load dashed into the water and then into the enemy's fire.

  • In these archipelagos the waters being shallow, the frost was quite intense enough to cool them to the bottom.

    The Giant of the North | R.M. Ballantyne
  • "I have a letter somewhere," looking in the machine drawer and finding the letter in the bottom of the workbasket.

  • In the presence of bromin the chloroform, which settles to the bottom, assumes a yellow color.

    A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
  • The signatures at the bottom of this memorandum, were hidden from Wharton's view, when he was allowed to read it.

British Dictionary definitions for bottom

bottom

/ (ˈbɒtəm) /


noun
  1. the lowest, deepest, or farthest removed part of a thing: the bottom of a hill

  2. the least important or successful position: the bottom of a class

  1. the ground underneath a sea, lake, or river

  2. touch bottom to run aground

  3. the inner depths of a person's true feelings (esp in the phrase from the bottom of one's heart)

  4. the underneath part of a thing

  5. nautical the parts of a vessel's hull that are under water

  6. (in literary or commercial contexts) a boat or ship

  7. billiards snooker a strike in the centre of the cue ball

  8. a dry valley or hollow

  9. (often plural) US and Canadian the low land bordering a river

  10. the lowest level worked in a mine

  11. (esp of horses) staying power; stamina

  12. importance, seriousness, or influence: his views all have weight and bottom

  13. informal the buttocks

  14. at bottom in reality; basically or despite appearances to the contrary: he's a kind man at bottom

  15. be at the bottom of to be the ultimate cause of

  16. get to the bottom of to discover the real truth about

  17. knock the bottom out of to destroy or eliminate

adjective(prenominal)
  1. lowest or last: the bottom price

  2. bet one's bottom dollar on or put one's bottom dollar on to be absolutely sure of (one's opinion, a person, project, etc)

  1. of, relating to, or situated at the bottom or a bottom: the bottom shelf

  2. fundamental; basic

verb
  1. (tr) to provide (a chair, etc) with a bottom or seat

  2. (tr) to discover the full facts or truth of; fathom

  1. (usually foll by on or upon) to base or be founded (on an idea, etc)

  2. (intr) nautical to strike the ground beneath the water with a vessel's bottom

  3. Australian mining

    • to mine (a hole, claim, etc) deep enough to reach any gold there is

    • (intr foll by on) to reach (gold, mud, etc) on bottoming

  4. electronics to saturate a transistor so that further increase of input produces no change in output

Origin of bottom

1
Old English botm; related to Old Norse botn, Old High German bodam, Latin fundus, Greek puthmēn

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with bottom

bottom

In addition to the idioms beginning with bottom

  • bottom drops out, the
  • bottom line
  • bottom of the barrel
  • bottom of the ladder
  • bottom out

also see:

  • at bottom
  • from head to toe (top to bottom)
  • from the bottom of one's heart
  • get to the bottom
  • hit (touch) bottom
  • knock the bottom out of
  • rock bottom
  • touch bottom
  • you bet your ass (bottom dollar)

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.