low-water mark
Americannoun
-
the lowest point reached by a low tide.
-
something indicating the bottom of a decline.
-
the lowest or least admirable level.
the low-water mark of political chicanery.
noun
-
the level reached by seawater at low tide or by other stretches of water at their lowest level
-
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.
Kelly’s 18-25 record gives him a .419 winning percentage that ranks below Rick Neuheisel’s .420 mark that has long been considered the program’s low-water mark in the modern era.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 28, 2021
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
Having thus gone over, through, and under all impediments, they were informed that they were 120 feet below the level of the sea vertically, and horizontally 480 feet below low-water mark.
From The Mines and its Wonders by Kingston, William Henry Giles
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.
