low-rise

American  

[loh-rahyz] / ˈloʊˌraɪz /

adjective

1. having a comparatively small number of floors, as a motel or townhouse, and usually no elevator.

2. (of pants) having a waistline placed at or just below the hips.

   low-rise jeans.

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noun

1. a low-rise building.

low-rise British  

adjective

1. of or relating to a building having only a few storeys Compare high-rise

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noun

1. such a building

Etymology

Origin of low-rise

First recorded in 1955–60; on the model of high-rise ( def. )

Example Sentences

It is flanked by low-rise apartment buildings and retail spaces typical of the Bowery neighborhood.

From Barron's • Mar. 18, 2026

The empty, low-rise buildings at 413 and 825 Ocean Ave. sit on prime, blufftop real estate overlooking Palisades Park and the Pacific Ocean.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 12, 2026

We also used low-rise desks so it’s possible to look out the perimeter windows from the private offices.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 5, 2026

The costs of the border war between Thailand and Cambodia are cruelly obvious in the hospital in Mongkol Borei, a breezy, low-rise complex surrounded by trees.

From BBC • Dec. 18, 2025

Now they’re talking about tearing down all the high-rises and putting everyone in low-rise buildings as the solution.

From "Our America: Life and Death on the South Side of Chicago" by LeAlan Jones