below

American  

[bih-loh] / bɪˈloʊ /

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.

3. beneath the surface of the water.

   Divers were sent below to view the wreck.

4. on earth.

   the fate of creatures here below.

5. in hell or the infernal regions.

6. at a later point on a page or in a text.

   See the illustration below.

7. in a lower rank or grade.

   He was demoted to the class below.

8. under zero on the temperature scale.

   The temperature in Buffalo was ten below this morning.

9. Theater. downstage.

10. 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.

3. too low or undignified to be worthy of; beneath.

   He considered such an action below his notice.

4. Theater. downstage of.

   There are two chairs below the table.

below British  

/ bɪˈləʊ /

preposition

1. at or to a position lower than; under

2. less than in quantity or degree

3. south of

4. downstream of

5. unworthy of; beneath

---

adverb

1. at or to a lower position or place

2. at a later place (in something written)

   see below

3. archaic beneath heaven; on earth or in hell

Related Words

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.

Etymology

Origin of below

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

Example Sentences

"N wants to send the letter below to his children," an email address identified as Valeria Chomsky wrote in September 2017.

From BBC

The fall in bitcoin, which extended as low as $70,039 in early Thursday trading, has now pushed its price considerably below its estimated cost of production that JPMorgan calculates around $87,000.

From MarketWatch

The fall in bitcoin, which extended as low as $70,039 in early Thursday trading, has now pushed its price considerably below its estimated cost of production that JPMorgan calculates around $87,000.

From MarketWatch

“Margin pressure from meaningful discounting, currency headwind and some company-specific issues meant margins stepped back below 2% and this even includes some help from over 1 billion kronor of emission credit sales.”

From The Wall Street Journal

That is below the average Buy-rating share of 58% among S&P 500 constituents, but it is the highest mark in a year.

From Barron's

Related Words

• down