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low-level

American  
[loh-lev-uhl] / ˈloʊˈlɛv əl /

adjective

  1. undertaken by or composed of members having a low status.

    a low-level discussion.

  2. having low status.

    low-level personnel.

  3. undertaken at or from a low altitude.

    low-level bombing.

  4. Linguistics. occurring or operating at the phonetic level of linguistic representation or analysis.

    low-level rules governing assimilation.


Etymology

Origin of low-level

First recorded in 1880–85

Explanation

Someone who's described as being low-level has very little authority in their job or position. A low-level employee at the F.B.I. might be the person who answers the phone, or who cleans people's offices at the end of the day. A low-level police officer's job might involve giving speeding tickets, rather than investigating murders, and a low-level librarian might be stuck shelving books, instead of ordering new ones or archiving historical manuscripts. Another meaning of low-level is physically low, or at a low altitude: "I feel like I could almost touch that low-level cloud."

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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.

The analyst is betting on Quantum Computing’s Qatalyst software, which enables programmers to solve computational problems without knowing low-level quantum coding.

From Barron's • Jun. 15, 2026

The case was resolved as part of the Single Justice Procedure, where low-level crimes are dealt with behind closed doors.

From BBC • May 23, 2026

In places where retail theft was treated as a low-level concern, it didn’t stay contained.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026

Several factors appear to drive this decline, including accumulated cellular damage, changes in gene activity, chronic low-level inflammation, and shifts in the bone marrow environment.

From Science Daily • Apr. 16, 2026

For the first time since Valentin Markov had established the tradition, they landed without their low-level victory pass over the airfield.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

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