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.
And it’s possible this period represents Walker’s low-water mark.
From New York Times ● Oct. 14, 2022
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
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
Its length is sometimes over two inches, and it is found in large numbers on sandy or shelly beaches, near low-water mark, in the North Island.
From Beautiful Shells of New Zealand An Illustrated Work for Amateur Collectors of New Zealand Marine Shells, with Directions for Collecting and Cleaning them by E. G. B. Moss
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.
