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LOW
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The lowest forward gear ratio in the gear box of a motor vehicle; used to start a car moving
Synonyms:
first; first gear; low; low gear
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("low" is a kind of...):
gear; gear mechanism (a mechanism for transmitting motion for some specific purpose (as the steering gear of a vehicle))
Holonyms ("low" is a part of...):
auto; automobile; car; machine; motorcar (a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A low level or position or degree
Example:
the stock market fell to a new low
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("low" is a kind of...):
degree; grade; level (a position on a scale of intensity or amount or quality)
Antonym:
high (a lofty level or position or degree)
Sense 3
Meaning:
British political cartoonist (born in New Zealand) who created the character Colonel Blimp (1891-1963)
Synonyms:
David Low; Low; Sir David Alexander Cecil Low; Sir David Low
Classified under:
Instance hypernyms:
cartoonist (a person who draws cartoons)
Sense 4
Meaning:
An air mass of lower pressure; often brings precipitation
Example:
a low moved in over night bringing sleet and snow
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("low" is a kind of...):
air mass (a large body of air with uniform characteristics horizontally)
Holonyms ("low" is a part of...):
cyclone ((meteorology) rapid inward circulation of air masses about a low pressure center; circling counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Filled with melancholy and despondency
Example:
feeling discouraged and downhearted
Synonyms:
blue; depressed; dispirited; down; down in the mouth; downcast; downhearted; gloomy; grim; low; low-spirited
Classified under:
Similar:
dejected (affected or marked by low spirits)
Derivation:
lowness (a feeling of low spirits)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Of the most contemptible kind
Example:
a scurvy trick
Synonyms:
abject; low; low-down; miserable; scummy; scurvy
Classified under:
Similar:
contemptible (deserving of contempt or scorn)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Literal meanings; being at or having a relatively small elevation or upward extension
Example:
a low bow
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
deep (with head or back bent low)
flat-growing; ground-hugging; low-growing (of plants that grow relatively low to the ground)
low-altitude; low-level (occurring at a relatively low altitude)
low-lying (having a small elevation above the ground or horizon or sea level)
low-set; lowset (lower than average)
nether; under (located below or beneath something else)
squat; underslung (having a low center of gravity; built low to the ground)
Also:
little; short (low in stature; not tall)
down (being or moving lower in position or less in some value)
inferior (of or characteristic of low rank or importance)
Attribute:
height; tallness (the vertical dimension of extension; distance from the base of something to the top)
Antonym:
high ((literal meaning) being at or having a relatively great or specific elevation or upward extension (sometimes used in combinations like 'knee-high'))
Derivation:
lowness (the quality of being low; lacking height)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
Example:
the reservoir is low
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
debased; degraded; devalued (lowered in value)
depressed; down (lower than previously)
low-level (not intense)
reduced; rock-bottom (well below normal (especially in price))
Also:
inferior (of or characteristic of low rank or importance)
Attribute:
degree; grade; level (a position on a scale of intensity or amount or quality)
Antonym:
high (greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount)
Derivation:
lowness (a low or small degree of any quality (amount or force or temperature etc.))
Sense 5
Meaning:
Used of sounds and voices; low in pitch or frequency
Synonyms:
low; low-pitched
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
throaty (sounding as if pronounced low in the throat)
contrabass; double-bass (pitched an octave below normal bass instrumental or vocal range)
bass; deep (having or denoting a low vocal or instrumental range)
baritone (lower in range than tenor and higher than bass)
alto; contralto (of or being the lowest female voice)
Attribute:
pitch (the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration)
Antonym:
high (used of sounds and voices; high in pitch or frequency)
Derivation:
lowness (a low or small degree of any quality (amount or force or temperature etc.))
Sense 6
Meaning:
Very low in volume
Example:
the low-toned murmur of the surf
Synonyms:
low; low-toned
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
soft ((of sound) relatively low in volume)
Derivation:
lowness (a low or small degree of any quality (amount or force or temperature etc.))
Sense 7
Meaning:
Subdued or brought low in condition or status
Example:
his broken spirit
Synonyms:
broken; crushed; humbled; humiliated; low
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
humble (marked by meekness or modesty; not arrogant or prideful)
Derivation:
lowness (a feeling of low spirits)
Sense 8
Meaning:
Unrefined in character
Example:
low comedy
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
unrefined ((used of persons and their behavior) not refined; uncouth)
Derivation:
lowness (a position of inferior status; low in station or rank or fortune or estimation)
Sense 9
Meaning:
No longer sufficient
Example:
our funds are depleted
Synonyms:
depleted; low
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
deficient; insufficient (of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement)
Derivation:
lowness (a low or small degree of any quality (amount or force or temperature etc.))
Sense 10
Meaning:
Low or inferior in station or quality
Example:
small beginnings
Synonyms:
humble; low; lowly; modest; small
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
inferior (of or characteristic of low rank or importance)
Derivation:
lowness (a position of inferior status; low in station or rank or fortune or estimation)
III. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they low ... he / she / it lows
Past simple: lowed
Past participle: lowed
-ing form: lowing
Sense 1
Meaning:
Make a low noise, characteristic of bovines
Synonyms:
low; moo
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Hypernyms (to "low" is one way to...):
emit; let loose; let out; utter (express audibly; utter sounds (not necessarily words))
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
IV. (adverb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
In a low position; near the ground
Example:
the branches hung low
Classified under:
Context examples:
I stopped: the sound ceased, only for an instant; it began again, louder: for at first, though distinct, it was very low.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
In the silence that followed, the low, half-sobbing whine was heard at the door and then the long, questing sniff.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
‘Tut, you will find that I have not forgotten old times,’ cried Mr. Trevor, and, walking towards the sailor, he said something in a low voice.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The first (lowest) level of severity in an ordered list based on a five-level scale of minimal, mild, moderate, marked, and severe.
(Minimum, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)
The broadest part of the lower portion of the mediastinum.
(Middle Mediastinum, NCI Thesaurus)
Abnormal malignant growth of cells in the urethra (lower urinary tract)that has spread either into adjacent tissue or to a distant site.
(Metastatic Neoplasm of the Urethra, NCI Thesaurus)
The storm appeared to approach rapidly, and, on landing, I ascended a low hill, that I might observe its progress.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
You may see the notch on the lower side of the frame to this day.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
There are also health conditions that only affect men, such as prostate cancer and low testosterone.
(Men's Health, NIH)
A malignant brain tumor that begins in the lower part of the brain and that can spread to the spine or to other parts of the body.
(Medulloblastoma, NCI Dictionary)
