bottom-up

American  

[bot-uhm--uhp] / ˈbɒt əm ˈʌp /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or originating with the common people, nonprofessionals, or the lower ranks of an organization.

   The five-day workweek was a bottom-up movement that business leaders and politicians finally supported.

2. organized or proceeding from smaller, more detailed units to the larger, more general structure.

   His bottom-up approach to research involves immersing himself in communities to better understand the lives of local entrepreneurs.

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bottom-up British  

adjective

1. from the lowest level of a hierarchy or process to the top

   a bottom-up approach to corporate decision-making

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Etymology

Origin of bottom-up

First recorded in 1930–35 as an adjective and in 1890–95 as an adverb, both deriving from the phrase “from the bottom up ”

Example Sentences

Since the start of the conflict, full-year earnings-per-share forecasts for the S&P 500 as a whole have risen slightly, according to bottom-up numbers from FactSet.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

This was both top-down and bottom-up, organizing and working together.

From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026

That bottom-up approach creates delays and a lag time in processing ballots.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 22, 2026

Lord Abbett’s portfolio managers combine a top-down macro approach to construct portfolios with bottom-up fundamental research on individual names for its 34 active strategies.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

Dr. Anderson has concluded that television’s lure owes its powerful appeal to two parts of attention that often compete: the top-down system and the bottom-up system.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

Related Words

• reversed
• upturned