low

[ loh ]

/ loʊ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR low ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, low·er, low·est.

situated, placed, or occurring not far above the ground, floor, or base: a low shelf.

of small extent upward; not high or tall: A low wall surrounds the property.

not far above the horizon, as a planet: The moon was low in the sky.

lying or being below the general level: low ground.

designating or pertaining to regions near sea level, especially near the sea: low countries.

bending or passing far downward; deep: a low bow.

(of a garment) low-necked; décolleté: The dress she wore was fashionably low.

rising but slightly from a surface: a low relief on a frieze.

of less than average or normal height or depth, as a liquid or stream: The river is low this time of year.

near the first of a series: a low number.

ranked near the beginning or bottom on some scale of measurement: a low income bracket.

indicating the bottom or the point farthest down: the low point in his creative life.

lacking in strength, energy, or vigor; feeble; weak: to feel low and listless.

providing little nourishment or strength, as a diet.

of small number, amount, degree, force, intensity, etc.: low visibility; a generator with a low output.

indicated or represented by a low number: A low latitude is one relatively near the equator.

soft: subdued; not loud: a low murmur.

Music. produced by relatively slow vibrations, as sounds; grave in pitch.

assigning or attributing little worth, value, excellence, or the like: a low estimate of a new book.

containing a relatively small amount: a diet low in starches.

nearing depletion; not adequately supplied: low on funds; Our stock of towels is low.

depressed or dejected: low spirits.

far down in the scale of rank or estimation; humble: of low birth.

of inferior quality or character: a low grade of fabric; a low type of intellect.

lacking in dignity or elevation, as of thought or expression.

mean, base, or disreputable: low tricks; low companions.

coarse or vulgar: entertainment of a low sort.

Boxing. struck or delivered below a contestant's belt.

Biology. having a relatively simple structure; not complex in organization.

Phonetics. (of a vowel) articulated with a relatively large opening above the tongue, as the vowels of hat, hut, hot, ought, etc.Compare high(def 23).

Automotive. of, relating to, or operating at the gear transmission ratio at which the drive shaft moves at the lowest speed with relation to the speed of the engine crankshaft, used especially for temporarily overcoming the weight or inertia of the vehicle; first: low gear.

Baseball. (of a pitched ball) passing the plate at a level below that of the batter's knees: a low curve.

Cards. having less value than other cards: a low card.

Metallurgy. having a relatively small amount of a specified constituent (usually used in combination): low-carbon steel.

Chiefly British. holding to Low Church principles and practices.

adverb, low·er, low·est.

in or to a low position, point, degree, etc.: The raiders crouched low in the bushes.

near the ground, floor, or base; not aloft: The plane flew low.

in or to a humble or abject state: Some live low while others live high. She swore she would bring him low.

in or to a condition of depletion, prostration, or death: The gas in the tank is running low.

at comparatively small cost; cheaply: to buy something low and sell it high.

at or to a low pitch, volume, intensity, etc.: to turn the radio low; lights turned down low.

in a low tone; softly; quietly; to speak low.

Archaic. far down in time; late.

noun

something that is low, as ground or prices: numerous marshy lows in the forest; the recent low in the stock market.

Automotive. low gear; first gear.

Meteorology. an atmospheric low-pressure system; cyclone.Compare high(def 37).

Cards.

the lowest trump card.
a card of small value, or of lower value than other cards.
the lowest score in a game.
a player having such a score.

a point of deepest decline, vulgarity, etc.: a new low in tastelessness.

Slang. a period of intense depression or discomfort, when the effects of a drug have subsided.

Nearby words

loving, loving cup, loving-kindness, lovingest, lovingly, low, low archipelago, low beam, low blood pressure, low blow, low board

Idioms

lay low,

to overpower or kill; defeat: to lay one's attackers low.
to knock down; make prostrate.
Informal. to lie low.

lie low,

to conceal oneself: He had to lie low for a while.
to do nothing until the right opportunity develops; bide one's time: Until the dispute is settled, you would do best to lie low.

Origin of low

1125–75; Middle English lowe, lohe (adj. and noun), earlier lāh < Old Norse lāgr (adj.); cognate with Old Frisian lēge, lēch, Dutch laag, Old High German laege; akin to lie²

SYNONYMS FOR low

13 exhausted, sinking, expiring, dying.

17 quiet.

18 deep.

22 dispirited, unhappy, sad.

23 lowly, meek, obscure.

26 ignoble, degraded, servile.

27 rude, crude. See mean².

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ANTONYMS FOR low

1–3 high.

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Related formslow·ish, adjectivelow·ness, nouno·ver·low·ness, noun

Can be confusedlow lowly

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for lay low (1 of 3)

Low

/ (ləʊ) /

noun

Sir David. 1891–1963, British political cartoonist, born in New Zealand: created Colonel BlimpSee blimp 2

British Dictionary definitions for lay low (2 of 3)

low

/ (ləʊ) /

adjective

having a relatively small distance from base to top; not tall or higha low hill; a low building

situated at a relatively short distance above the ground, sea level, the horizon, or other reference positionlow cloud
(in combination)low-lying

involving or containing a relatively small amount of somethinga low supply
(in combination)low-pressure

having little value or quality
(in combination)low-grade

of less than the usual or expected height, depth, or degreelow temperature

(of numbers) small
(of measurements) expressed in small numbers

unfavourablea low opinion

not advanced in evolutiona low form of plant life

deepa low obeisance

coarse or vulgara low conversation

inferior in culture or status
(in combination)low-class

in a physically or mentally depressed or weakened state

designed so as to reveal the wearer's neck and part of the bosoma low neckline

with a hushed tone; quiet or softa low whisper

of relatively small price or monetary valuelow cost

music relating to or characterized by a relatively low pitch

(of latitudes) situated not far north or south of the equator

having little or no money

abject or servile

phonetics of, relating to, or denoting a vowel whose articulation is produced by moving the back of the tongue away from the soft palate or the blade away from the hard palate, such as for the a in English fatherCompare high (def. 22)

(of a gear) providing a relatively low forward speed for a given engine speed

(usually capital) of or relating to the Low Church

adverb

in a low position, level, degree, intensity, etcto bring someone low

at a low pitch; deepto sing low

at a low price; cheaplyto buy low

lay low

to cause to fall by a blow
to overcome, defeat or destroy

lie low

to keep or be concealed or quiet
to wait for a favourable opportunity

noun

a low position, level, or degreean all-time low

an area of relatively low atmospheric pressure, esp a depression

electronics the voltage level in a logic circuit corresponding to logical zeroCompare high (def. 40)

Derived Formslowness, noun

Word Origin for low

C12 lāh, from Old Norse lāgr; related to Old Frisian lēch low, Dutch laag

British Dictionary definitions for lay low (3 of 3)

low

/ (ləʊ) /

noun Also: lowing

the sound uttered by cattle; moo

verb

to make or express by a low or moo

Word Origin for low

Old English hlōwan; related to Dutch loeien, Old Saxon hlōian

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

Word Origin and History for lay low (1 of 5)

low

adj.

"not high," late 13c., from lah (late 12c.), "not rising much, being near the base or ground" (of objects or persons); "lying on the ground or in a deep place" (late 13c.), from Old Norse lagr "low," or a similar Scandinavian source (cf. Swedish låg, Danish lav), from Proto-Germanic *lega- "lying flat, low" (cf. Old Frisian lech, Middle Dutch lage, Dutch laag "low," dialectal German läge "flat"), from PIE *legh- "to lie" (see lie (v.2)).

Meaning "humble in rank" is from c.1200; "undignified" is from 1550s; sense of "dejected, dispirited" is attested from 1737; meaning "coarse, vulgar" is from 1759. In reference to sounds, "not loud," also "having a deep pitch," it is attested from c.1300. Of prices, from c.1400. In geographical usage, low refers to the part of a country near the sea-shore (c.1300; e.g. Low Countries "Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg," 1540s). As an adverb c.1200, from the adjective.

Word Origin and History for lay low (1 of 5)

low

Old English hlowan "make a noise like a cow," from Proto-Germanic *khlo- (cf. Middle Dutch loeyen, Dutch loeien, Old Low Franconian luon, Old High German hluojen), from imitative PIE root *kele- (2) "to shout" (see claim (v.)).

Word Origin and History for lay low (2 of 5)

low

n.1

sound made by cows, 1540s, from low (v.).

Word Origin and History for lay low (3 of 5)

low

adv.

early 13c., from low (adj.). Of voices or sounds, from c.1300.

Word Origin and History for lay low (4 of 5)

low

n.2

"hill," obsolete except in place names, Old English hlaw "hill, mound," especially "barrow," related to hleonian "to lean" (see lean (v.)). Cf. Latin clivus "hill" from the same PIE root.

Idioms and Phrases with lay low (1 of 2)

lay low

see lay someone low; lie low.

Idioms and Phrases with lay low (2 of 2)

low

In addition to the idioms beginning with low

low blow
low boiling point
low man on the totem pole
low profile

also see:

at a low ebb
(low) boiling point
high and low
keep a low profile
lay someone low
lie low

low

adjective, low·er, low·est.

adverb, low·er, low·est.

noun

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Idioms

Origin of low

British Dictionary definitions for lay low (1 of 3)

Low

noun

British Dictionary definitions for lay low (2 of 3)

low

adjective

adverb

noun

Word Origin for low

British Dictionary definitions for lay low (3 of 3)

low

noun Also: lowing

verb

Word Origin for low

Word Origin and History for lay low (1 of 5)

low

Word Origin and History for lay low (1 of 5)

low

Word Origin and History for lay low (2 of 5)

low

Word Origin and History for lay low (3 of 5)

low

Word Origin and History for lay low (4 of 5)

low

Idioms and Phrases with lay low (1 of 2)

lay low

Idioms and Phrases with lay low (2 of 2)

low