lower
1to cause to descend; let or put down: to lower a flag.
to make lower in height or level: to lower the water in a canal.
to reduce in amount, price, degree, force, etc.
to make less loud: Please lower your voice.
Music. to make lower in pitch; flatten.
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.
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.
to descend; sink: the sun lowering in the west.
comparative of low1.
of or relating to those portions of a river farthest from the source.
(often initial capital letter)Stratigraphy. noting an early division of a period, system, or the like: the Lower Devonian.
a denture for the lower jaw.
a lower berth.
Origin of lower
1Other words for lower
Opposites for lower
Other words from lower
- low·er·a·ble, adjective
Other definitions for lower (2 of 2)
to be dark and threatening, as the sky or the weather.
to frown, scowl, or look sullen; glower: He lowers at people when he's in a bad mood.
a dark, threatening appearance, as of the sky or weather.
a frown or scowl.
Origin of lower
2- Also lour [louuhr, lou-er] /laʊər, ˈlaʊ ər/ .
Other words for lower
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use lower in a sentence
Another 2020 report found lower concentrations for sea ice cores, ranging from 2,000 to 17,000 plastic particles per cubic meter.
Plastics are showing up in the world’s most remote places, including Mount Everest | Carolyn Wilke | November 20, 2020 | Science NewsThe lower triangle is similar to the large triangle, while the upper one is the other type of triangle with angles measuring 36, 36 and 108 degrees.
How to Solve Our Three John Conway-Inspired Puzzles | Pradeep Mutalik | November 20, 2020 | Quanta MagazineAn emergency authorization for a vaccine is typically a lower standard than full approval.
Pfizer and BioNTech will seek regulatory clearance of their coronavirus vaccine | Carolyn Y. Johnson | November 20, 2020 | Washington PostCase rate in schools among elementary andmiddle school students is lower thanthe rate in the overall community.
Schools are not spreading covid-19. This new data explains why. | Emily Oster | November 20, 2020 | Washington PostThe Supreme Court returned the case to the lower court, which again upheld the conviction.
Drew S. Days III, first African American to lead civil rights division at Justice Department, dies at 79 | Emily Langer | November 20, 2020 | Washington Post
After the captain made the call to abandon ship, 150 people were able to escape on lifeboats lowered by electronic arms.
‘We’re Going to Die’: Survivors Recount Greek Ferry Fire Horror | Barbie Latza Nadeau | December 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBoth the Ramos sons squeezed their eyes and lowered their heads, doing their best not to cry.
Choking Back Tears, Thousands of Cops Honor Fallen Officer Ramos | Michael Daly | December 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTLast May, Israel lowered the minimum age for gender reassignment surgery from 21 to 18.
Trans in the Holy Land: ‘Marzipan Flowers,’ Tal Kallai, and the Shattering of Israel’s LGBT Taboos | Itay Hod | November 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut as soon as she pressed the razor blade against her neck, the guard lowered the gun.
How ‘Titanic ’Helped This Brave Young Woman Escape North Korea’s Totalitarian State | Lizzie Crocker | October 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTo increase profits, hospitals did what they could to increase “customers” and they lowered physician salaries.
Will US Health Care Follow in China’s Bloody Footsteps? | Daniela Drake | September 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTFirst the chimneys sank down through the roof, as if they were being lowered into the cellar.
Davy and The Goblin | Charles E. CarrylThe extent to which the man was lowered and lost in the risen Lord is especially revealed in the fourth Gospel.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature | Moncure Daniel ConwayThe barrier between them lowered perceptibly again, and Tom felt a momentary return of the confidence he had lost.
The Wave | Algernon BlackwoodThe face of the seated man was lowered, but from under heavy brows his abnormally large eyes regarded her fixedly.
Dope | Sax RohmerHis open brow lowered, and his fingers instinctively began playing with the hilt of his sabre.
British Dictionary definitions for lower (1 of 2)
/ (ˈləʊə) /
being below one or more other things: the lower shelf; the lower animals
reduced in amount or value: a lower price
maths (of a limit or bound) less than or equal to one or more numbers or variables
(sometimes capital) geology denoting the early part or division of a period, system, formation, etc: Lower Silurian
(tr) to cause to become low or on a lower level; bring, put, or cause to move down
(tr) to reduce or bring down in estimation, dignity, value, etc: to lower oneself
to reduce or be reduced: to lower one's confidence
(tr) to make quieter: to lower the radio
(tr) to reduce the pitch of
(tr) phonetics to modify the articulation of (a vowel) by bringing the tongue further away from the roof of the mouth
(intr) to diminish or become less
Origin of lower
1Derived forms of lower
- lowerable, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for lower (2 of 2)
lour
/ (ˈlaʊə) /
(esp of the sky, weather, etc) to be overcast, dark, and menacing
to scowl or frown
a menacing scowl or appearance
Derived forms of lower
- lowering or louring, adjective
- loweringly or louringly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for lower
[ lō′ər ]
Being an earlier division of the geological or archaeological period named. Compare upper.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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