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.
Nine months ago, the Weeknd used a professional high point to herald what may end up the low-water mark of his career.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2023
The 2002 team under Dick LeBeau went 2-14 to set the low-water mark.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 23, 2019
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
Photograph: Andrew Fosker/Rex Features The tide turned on the third day at Ahmedabad, though the change was so slight it is impossible to spot quite where the low-water mark lay.
From The Guardian • Dec. 18, 2012
The day that France takes possession of New Orleans fixes the sentence which is to restrain her forever within her low-water mark....
From Thomas Jefferson by Merwin, Henry Childs
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.
