low

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   Situated close to, or even below, the ground or another normal reference plane

   Situated close to, or even below, the ground or another normal reference plane; not high or lofty.

   • standing on low ground
   • in a low valley, ringed by low hills
   • a low wall a low shelf
2. 2

   Of less than normal height or upward extent or growth, or of greater than normal depth or…

   Of less than normal height or upward extent or growth, or of greater than normal depth or recession; below the average or normal level from which elevation is measured.

   • a low bow
   • a low tide
   • the Mississippi is unusually low right now
3. 3

   Not high in status, esteem, or rank, dignity, or quality. (Compare vulgar.)

   • low birth
   • low rank
   • the low officials of the bureaucracy
4. ›+ 42 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      Humble, meek, not haughty.

      • God loves an humble soul. It is not our high birth, but our low hearts God delights in.
   2. 5

      Disparaging

      Disparaging; assigning little value or excellence.

      • She had a low opinion of cats. He took a low view of dogs.
      • The humble soul has low thoughts of his own person; as David, 'I am a worm, and no man.'
   3. 6

      Being a nadir, a bottom.

      • the low point in her career
      • Virginia, for example, reached such a low point in her junior year that she briefly considered suicide [...]
   4. 7

      Depressed in mood, dejected, sad.

      • low spirits
      • As low as I felt, at least I didn't have Hunding's [miserable] job.
   5. 8

      Lacking health or vitality, strength or vivacity

      Lacking health or vitality, strength or vivacity; feeble; weak.

      • a low pulse
      • made (or: laid) low by sickness
   6. 9

      Dead. (Compare lay low.)

      • And wilt thou weep when I am low?
      • [L]et the mournful martial music blow; / The last great Englishman is low.
   7. 10

      Small, not high (in amount or quantity, value, force, energy, etc).

      • Unfortunately, low winds were the rule over the local waters and this craft was no better, if as good, as ordinary sailboats under such conditions.
   8. 11

      Simple in complexity or development.

      • low protozoan animals, low cryptogamic plants, and other low organisms
      • In the case of languages spoken by very low races, like the Puris and the Tasmanians, the difficulty of deciding such a point must be very great.
   9. 12

      Favoring simplicity (see e.g. low church, Low Tory).

      • Among them there was none more low, more pious, more sincere, or more given to interference. To teach Mr. Worth his duty as a parish clergyman was evidently a necessity to such a bishop.
      • […] and give a judgment against not only Denison, but the Church's doctrine; and that, it having once been given, we shall not get it reversed; and that the Church of England will seem to be committed to Low doctrine, which […]
   10. 13

       Being near the equator.

       • the low northern latitudes
   11. 14

       Grave in pitch, due to being produced by relatively slow vibrations (wave oscillations)

       Grave in pitch, due to being produced by relatively slow vibrations (wave oscillations); flat.

       • The note was too low for her to sing.
       • Generally, European men have lower voices than their Indian counterparts.
   12. 15

       Quiet

       Quiet; soft; not loud.

       • They spoke in low voices so I would not hear what they were saying.
       • Why would you want to play heavy metal at such a low volume?
       • Speak low if you speak love.
   13. 16

       Made with a relatively large opening between the tongue and the palate

       Made with a relatively large opening between the tongue and the palate; made with (part of) the tongue positioned low in the mouth, relative to the palate.

   14. 17

       Lesser in value than other cards, denominations, suits, etc.

       • a low card
   15. 18

       Not rich or seasoned

       Not rich or seasoned; offering the minimum of nutritional requirements; plain, simple.

       • The Physicians ordered a low diet, and cooling ptisans in great abundance.
   16. 19

       Designed for a slow (or the slowest) speed.

       • low gear
   17. 20

       A low point or position, literally (as, a depth) or figuratively (as, a nadir, a time…

       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).

       • You have achieved a new low in behavior, Frank.
       • Economic growth has hit a new low.
       • Unemployment has reached a ten-year low.
   18. 21

       A period of depression

       A period of depression; a depressed mood or situation.

       • He is in a low right now. the highs and lows of bipolar disorder
   19. 22

       An area of low pressure

       An area of low pressure; a depression.

       • A deep low is centred over the British Isles.
   20. 23

       The lowest-speed gearing of a power-transmission system, especially of an automotive…

       The lowest-speed gearing of a power-transmission system, especially of an automotive vehicle.

       • Shift out of low before the car gets to eight miles per hour.
   21. 24

       The lowest trump, usually the deuce

       The lowest trump, usually the deuce; the lowest trump dealt or drawn.

   22. 25

       A cheap, cost-efficient, or advantageous price.

       • He got the brand new Yankees jersey for the low.
   23. 26

       Close to the ground.

   24. 27

       Of a pitch, at a lower frequency.

       • Can sing both high and low.
   25. 28

       With a low voice or sound

       With a low voice or sound; not loudly; gently.

       • to speak low
       • [T]he amorous, odorous wind, / Breathes low between the sunset and the moon, […]
   26. 29

       Under the usual price

       Under the usual price; at a moderate price; cheaply.

       • He sold his wheat low.
   27. 30

       In a low mean condition

       In a low mean condition; humbly; meanly.

       • But ever since the concept of "hamartia" recurred through Aristotle's Poetics, in an attempt to describe man's ingrained iniquity, our impulse has been to identify a telling defect in those brought suddenly and dramatically low.
   28. 31

       In a time approaching our own.

       • In that part of the world which was first inhabited, […] even as low down as Abraham's time, they wandered with their flocks and herds.
   29. 32

       In a path near the equator, so that the declination is small, or near the horizon, so…

       In a path near the equator, so that the declination is small, or near the horizon, so that the altitude is small; said of the heavenly bodies with reference to the diurnal revolution.

       • The moon runs low, i.e. comparatively near the horizon when on or near the meridian.
   30. 33

       To lower

       To lower; to make low.

       • I shall only say this, that all the other graces must low the sail to faith, and so it is faith must carry us through, being that last triumphing grace, […]
       • Now to use these as Hypotheseis, as himself in his Word, is pleas'd to low himself to our capacities, is allowable:
       • The merry fowks that were the ben, / By this time 'gan to low their strain
   31. 34

       simple past of laugh.

   32. 35

       To moo.

       • The cattle were lowing.
       • In peals of thunder now she roars--and now / She gently whimpers like a lowing cow
       • The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea.
   33. 36

       A flame

       A flame; fire; blaze.

       • She was, as one of them expressed himself, in a light low (bright flame) when they observed a king's ship, with her colours up, heave in sight from behind the cape. The guns of the burning vessel discharged themselves […]
       • A boy fell aff his chair a' in a low, for the discharge had set him on fire […]
       • […] and he was sure to light of a verse blazing wi' a blue brimstone low that set all straight.
   34. 37

       To burn

       To burn; to blaze.

       • Driest wood will eithest low,
       • They scarcely left to co'er their fuds, To quench their lowan drouth.
       • […] in every crevice; and each individual brick shone and “lowed” with the intense heat. “As I am a Christian man,” thought he, “this is verily the mouth of the pit; and I am lost — lost for ever, for —”
   35. 38

       Barrow, mound, tumulus.

       • A barrow or Low, such as were usually cast up over the bodies of eminent Captains.
   36. 39

       A hill.

       • And some they brought the brown lint-seed, and flung it down from the Low.
   37. 40

       Alternative form of 'low.

   38. 41

       A surname.

   39. 42

       A township municipality in La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Regional County Municipality,…

       A township municipality in La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Regional County Municipality, Outaouais, Quebec, Canada, named after Charles Adamson Low.

   40. 43

       A ghost town in Tooele County, Utah, United States.

   41. 44

       The station code of Lo Wu in Hong Kong.

   42. 45

       Acronym of launch on warning.

The neighborhood

• synonymSynonyms: immoraldespicable thing to do
• synonymabject
• synonymscummy
• synonymscurvy
• neighborbelow