low
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈləʊ/
ipa: /ˈloʊ/
ipa: /ˈloʊ/
ipa: [ˈloː]
homophone: lo
homophone: Lowe
rhymes: -əʊ
Forms: form: lows
Etymology: From Middle English lowe, lohe, lāh, from Old Norse lágr (“low”), from Proto-Germanic *lēgaz (“lying, flat, situated near the ground, low”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie”).
Cognate with Scots laich (“low”), Saterland Frisian läich (“low”), West Frisian leech (“low”), Dutch laag (“low”), obsolete German läg (“low”), German Low German leeg, leeg' (“low”), Danish lav (“low”), Faroese, Icelandic lágur (“low”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, Swedish låg (“low”). More at lie.
Senses: examples: text: You have achieved a new low in behavior, Frank.
text: Economic growth has hit a new low.
text: Unemployment has reached a ten-year low.
text: During the 1960s and 1970s, when both the quality of architecture and the appreciation of historic buildings reached an all-time low, British Railways was notorious for replacing good station buildings and canopies with little more than bus shelters, usually in conjunction with de-staffing.
ref: 2020 December 2, Anthony Lambert, “Reimagining Railway Stations”, in Rail, page 38:
text: He also called for the US and China to rebuild their fractured relationship, which has plunged to new lows this year, but which Guterres said was “crucial” to climate action.
ref: 2022 November 4, Fiona Harvey, “UN chief warns ‘we will be doomed’ without historic climate pact”, in The Guardian:
glosses: A low point or position, literally (as, a depth) or figuratively (as, a nadir, a time when things are at their worst, least, minimum, etc).
examples: Today's low was 32 °F.
glosses: A low point or position, literally (as, a depth) or figuratively (as, a nadir, a time when things are at their worst, least, minimum, etc).
The minimum atmospheric temperature recorded at a particular location, especially during one 24-hour period.
examples: He is in a low right now. the highs and lows of bipolar disorder
glosses: A period of depression; a depressed mood or situation.
examples: text: A deep low is centred over the British Isles.
topics: climatology
meteorology
natural-sciences
glosses: An area of low pressure; a depression.
examples: text: Shift out of low before the car gets to eight miles per hour.
glosses: The lowest-speed gearing of a power-transmission system, especially of an automotive vehicle.
topics: card-games
games
glosses: The lowest trump, usually the deuce; the lowest trump dealt or drawn.
examples: text: He got the brand new Yankees jersey for the low.
glosses: A cheap, cost-efficient, or advantageous price.
raw_tags: accompanied by "the"
Derived terms: sense: Terms derived from low (noun)
word: Aleutian Low
sense: Terms derived from low (noun)
word: all-time low
sense: Terms derived from low (noun)
word: Arctic low
sense: Terms derived from low (noun)
word: cold-core low
sense: Terms derived from low (noun)
word: cold low
sense: Terms derived from low (noun)
word: Colorado low
sense: Terms derived from low (noun)
word: Genoa low
sense: Terms derived from low (noun)
word: heat low
sense: Terms derived from low (noun)
word: Holme Low
sense: Terms derived from low (noun)
word: hybrid low
sense: Terms derived from low (noun)
word: Icelandic Low
sense: Terms derived from low (noun)
word: Kona low
sense: Terms derived from low (noun)
word: logic low
sense: Terms derived from low (noun)
word: polar low
sense: Terms derived from low (noun)
word: thermal low
sense: Terms derived from low (noun)
word: upper-level low
sense: Terms derived from low (noun)
word: wake low
sense: Terms derived from low (noun)
word: warm-core low