lower

¹

[loh-er]

verb (used with object)

1. to cause to descend; let or put down.

   to lower a flag.

   Synonyms: depress, drop

2. to make lower in height or level.

   to lower the water in a canal.

3. to reduce in amount, price, degree, force, etc.

   Synonyms: lessen, diminish, decrease
   Antonyms: increase, raise, raise

4. to make less loud.

   Please lower your voice.

   Synonyms: soften

5. to bring down in rank or estimation; degrade; humble; abase (oneself), as by some sacrifice of self-respect or dignity.

   His bad actions lowered him in my eyes.

   Synonyms: debase, disgrace, dishonor, humiliate
   Antonyms: ennoble, elevate

6. Music.,  to make lower in pitch; flatten.

7. Phonetics.,  to alter the articulation of (a vowel) by increasing the distance of the tongue downward from the palate.

   The vowel of “clerk” is lowered to (ä) in the British pronunciation.

verb (used without object)

1. to become lower, grow less, or diminish, as in amount, intensity, or degree.

   The brook lowers in early summer. Stock prices rise and lower constantly.

2. to descend; sink.

   the sun lowering in the west.

adjective

1. comparative of low.

2. of or relating to those portions of a river farthest from the source.

3. (often initial capital letter),  noting an early division of a period, system, or the like.

   the Lower Devonian.

noun

1. a denture for the lower jaw.

2. a lower berth.

lower

²

Also lour

[lou-er, lou^uhr]

verb (used without object)

1. to be dark and threatening, as the sky or the weather.

   Synonyms: threaten, darken

2. to frown, scowl, or look sullen; glower.

   He lowers at people when he's in a bad mood.

noun

1. a dark, threatening appearance, as of the sky or weather.

2. a frown or scowl.

lower

¹

/ ˈləʊə /

adjective

1. being below one or more other things

   the lower shelf

   the lower animals

2. reduced in amount or value

   a lower price

3. maths (of a limit or bound) less than or equal to one or more numbers or variables

4. (sometimes capital) geology denoting the early part or division of a period, system, formation, etc

   Lower Silurian

verb

1. (tr) to cause to become low or on a lower level; bring, put, or cause to move down

2. (tr) to reduce or bring down in estimation, dignity, value, etc

   to lower oneself

3. to reduce or be reduced

   to lower one's confidence

4. (tr) to make quieter

   to lower the radio

5. (tr) to reduce the pitch of

6. (tr) phonetics to modify the articulation of (a vowel) by bringing the tongue further away from the roof of the mouth

7. (intr) to diminish or become less

lower

²

/ ˈlaʊə /

verb

1. (esp of the sky, weather, etc) to be overcast, dark, and menacing

2. to scowl or frown

noun

1. a menacing scowl or appearance

lower

1. Being an earlier division of the geological or archaeological period named.

2. Compare upper

Other Word Forms

• lowerable adjective
• loweringly adverb
• lowering adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of lower¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English, comparative of low ¹ (adjective)

Origin of lower²

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English verb louren “to frown, lurk”; akin to German lauern, Dutch loeren; lurk

Word History and Origins

Origin of lower¹

C12 (comparative of _low ¹ ); C17 (vb)

Example Sentences

Prices of some of those bonds then edged lower in the secondary market, pushing the yields higher.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Allison Powell and her husband had been living since September in a Sonder apartment in lower Manhattan while he received treatment for head and neck cancer.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Gold prices settled slightly lower as the market remains in consolidation mode after this year’s big gains, Saxo analysts said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Local authorities have also flagged the region as being at lower risk of earthquakes compared to other potential sites in Japan.

Read more on BBC

However, as the chancellor pulls money out of the economy, the Bank of England is likely to push money back in by lowering interest rates, encouraging people and businesses to borrow and spend.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• curtail 
• cut 
• cut down 
• decrease 
• depreciate 
• devalue 
• diminish 
• downgrade 
• knock off 
• lessen 
• pare 
• scale down 
• slash 
• soften