Usage
What else does down-low mean? Content warning: the following content includes references to sexual activity. Something on the down-low is secret or private. Down-low can also specifically refer to Black men who secretly have sex.
Etymology
Origin of down-low
First recorded in 1990-95; down 1 ( def. ) + low 1 ( def. )
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.
If this is war, it is one that is being conducted on the down-low.
From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2026
That is why NAR apostles and prophets sometimes stay on the down-low — by foregoing churchy garb and open use of their titles, for instance.
From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2023
Because people could relate to the different characters: the tough guys, the weak guys, the down-low guys, all of that.
From New York Times ● Jun. 13, 2022
They’ve been kept on the down-low so long they don’t know which way is up in the new reality series “Help! I’m in a Secret Relationship!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2022
He knows jes' whar dat track is,—de down-low track, I means, whar de 'scapin' from de debbil comes good to dese yere people when dey gits free.
From The Harvest of Years by Martha Lewis Beckwith Ewell
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
