low-water mark
Americannoun
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the lowest point reached by a low tide.
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something indicating the bottom of a decline.
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the lowest or least admirable level.
the low-water mark of political chicanery.
noun
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the level reached by seawater at low tide or by other stretches of water at their lowest level
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the lowest point or level; nadir
Etymology
Origin of low-water mark
First recorded in 1520–30
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.
It looked as though they had crossed the midway point of their schedule by delivering their season’s low-water mark.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 12, 2022
Trump’s attorney, Walter Butler, contested the charges in nine separate appearances at the Coney Island Magistrate’s Court, citing case law suggesting that city land ownership ended at the low-water mark.
From The New Yorker ● Sep. 18, 2019
Only the Dead’s staunchest apologists would argue that its quality hasn’t oscillated wildly over the years, with the limp, flabby middle of last season a particular low-water mark in shambly zombiedom.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 23, 2017
The Huskies, in fact, are on pace to allow more yards than they have in any season, even the 0-12 debacle of 2008, the previous low-water mark when UW gave up 451.8 yards per game.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 26, 2011
Two of them, Ulva latissima, the green, and Porphyra laciniata, the purple laver, are among the most common sea-weeds, growing well up from low-water mark.
From Sea-Weeds, Shells and Fossils by Gray, Peter
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
