Vocabulary     

What does lower mean?

Definitions for lower
ˈloʊ ərlow·er

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word lower.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. lower berth, lowerverb

    the lower of two berths

  2. lower, take down, let down, get down, bring downverb

    move something or somebody to a lower position

    "take down the vase from the shelf"

  3. lower, lourverb

    set lower

    "lower a rating"; "lower expectations"

  4. turn down, lower, lourverb

    make lower or quieter

    "turn down the volume of a radio"

  5. lower, depressverb

    cause to drop or sink

    "The lack of rain had depressed the water level in the reservoir"

  6. frown, glower, lour, lowerverb

    look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Lowernoun

    Etymology: from the verb.

    Philoclea was jealous for Zelmane, not without so mighty a lower as that face could yield. Philip Sidney, b. ii.

  2. To Lowerverb

    Etymology: from low.

    As our high vessels pass their wat’ry way,
    Let all the naval world due homage pay;
    With hasty reverence their top-honours lower,
    Confessing the asserted power. Matthew Prior.

    The suppliant nations
    Bow to its ensigns, and with lower’d sails
    Confess the ocean’s queen. Edmund Smith, Phædrus and Hippolytus.

    When the water of rivers issues out of the apertures with more than ordinary rapidity, it bears along with it such particles of loose matter as it met with in its passage through the stone, and it sustains those particles till its motion begins to remit, when by degrees it lowers them, and lets them fall. John Woodward, Nat. Hist.

    The kingdom will lose by this lowering of interest, if it makes foreigners withdraw any of their money. John Locke.

    Some people know it is for their advantage to lower their interest. Josiah Child, on Trade.

  3. To Lowerverb

    To grow less; to fall; to sink.

    The present pleasure,
    By revolution low’ring, does become
    The opposite of itself. William Shakespeare, Ant. and Cleopatra.

  4. To Lowerverb

    Etymology: To grow less; to fall; to sink.

    Now is the winter of our discontent
    Made glorious Summer by this son of York;
    And all the clouds that lower’d upon our house,
    In the deep bosom of the ocean buried. William Shakespeare, Rich. III.

    The low’ring spring, with lavish rain,
    Beats down the slender stem and bearded grain. Dryden.

    When the heavens are filled with clouds, and all nature wears a lowering countenance, I withdraw myself from these uncomfortable scenes. Joseph Addison, Spectator, №. 83.

    The dawn is overcast, the morning low’rs,
    And heavily in clouds brings on the day. Joseph Addison, Cato.

    If on Swithin’s feast the welkin lours,
    And ev’ry penthouse streams with hasty show’rs,
    Twice twenty days shall clouds their fleeces drain. John Gay.

    There was Diana when Actæon saw her, and one of her foolish nymphs, who weeping, and withal lowering, one might see the workman meant to set forth tears of anger. Philip Sidney.

    He mounts the throne, and Juno took her place,
    But sullen discontent sat low’ring on her face;
    Then, impotent of tongue, her silence broke,
    Thus turbulent in rattling tone she spoke. Dryden.

ChatGPT

  1. lower

    Lower is an adjective, verb, or noun that refers to a position, direction, or level that is beneath or less than something else. It can mean to move something in a downward direction, to decrease or reduce in degree, or it can refer to something which is seen or ranked as less important or inferior. In a geographical context, 'lower' can indicate a place towards the sea or down a river. Finally, as a noun, 'lower' is often used in the plural to refer to the bottom set of teeth or jaw.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Loweradjective

    compar. of Low, a

  2. Loweradjective

    to let descend by its own weight, as something suspended; to let down; as, to lower a bucket into a well; to lower a sail or a boat; sometimes, to pull down; as, to lower a flag

  3. Loweradjective

    to reduce the height of; as, to lower a fence or wall; to lower a chimney or turret

  4. Loweradjective

    to depress as to direction; as, to lower the aim of a gun; to make less elevated as to object; as, to lower one's ambition, aspirations, or hopes

  5. Loweradjective

    to reduce the degree, intensity, strength, etc., of; as, to lower the temperature of anything; to lower one's vitality; to lower distilled liquors

  6. Loweradjective

    to bring down; to humble; as, to lower one's pride

  7. Loweradjective

    to reduce in value, amount, etc. ; as, to lower the price of goods, the rate of interest, etc

  8. Lowerverb

    to fall; to sink; to grow less; to diminish; to decrease; as, the river lowered as rapidly as it rose

  9. Lowerverb

    to be dark, gloomy, and threatening, as clouds; to be covered with dark and threatening clouds, as the sky; to show threatening signs of approach, as a tempest

  10. Lowerverb

    to frown; to look sullen

  11. Lowernoun

    cloudiness; gloominess

  12. Lowernoun

    a frowning; sullenness

  13. Etymology: [OE. lowren, luren; cf. D. loeren, LG. luren. G. lauern to lurk, to be on the watch, and E. leer, lurk.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Lower

    low′ėr, v.i. to appear gloomy, as the clouds: to threaten a storm: to frown.—adjs. Lou′ry, Low′ery, cloudy; Low′ering, looking sullen: appearing dark and threatening.—adv. Low′eringly. [M. E. louren, from M. E. lure, lere, the cheek, allied to A.S. hleór, and thus a variant of leer.]

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. LOWER

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Lower is ranked #7183 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Lower surname appeared 4,653 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 would have the surname Lower.

    94.8% or 4,412 total occurrences were White.
    1.7% or 80 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    1.6% or 77 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    0.8% or 38 total occurrences were Black.
    0.6% or 28 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
    0.3% or 18 total occurrences were Asian.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'lower' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #872

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'lower' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1564

  3. Verbs Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'lower' in Verbs Frequency: #616

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

Anagrams for lower »

  1. owler

  2. rowel

How to pronounce lower?

How to say lower in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of lower in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of lower in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of lower in a Sentence

  1. Van Dyke:

    Van Dyke waved the knife from Van Dyke lower right side, upwards, across Van Dyke body, towards my left shoulder.

  2. David Samadi:

    I believe the main reason for numerous hospitals having far lower hospitalized patient counts with the virus was due to the fact the majority of people who contracted the infection, did not require hospitalization, either they were asymptomatic, or their symptoms were not life-threatening and could be carefully managed quarantined at home.

  3. Marc Weissbluth:

    Sleep rules work because they encourage behaviors compatible with sleep and discourage behaviors that interfere with sleep, commonly, when implementing sleep rules, the bedtime is moved a little earlier, so the child is at a lower state of neurological arousal. Sleep rules may not work if the bedtime is way too late.

  4. Carmine Pariante:

    The omega-3 supplements only worked in children that had lower levels of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) in their blood, as if the intervention was replenishing a lack of this important nutrient.

  5. Gerard Anderson:

    There is no justification for these outrageous rates but no one tells hospitals they can’t charge them, for the most part, there is no regulation of hospital rates and there are no market forces that force hospitals to lower their rates. They charge these prices simply because they can.

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Popularity rank by frequency of use

lower#1#1104#10000

References

Translations for lower

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • أنزلArabic
  • baixar, abaixar, disminuir, reduirCatalan, Valencian
  • spustit, snížitCzech
  • herunterlassenGerman
  • bajarSpanish
  • alentua, madaltaa, laskea, alentaaFinnish
  • baisser, réduire, diminuer, s'abaisser, abaisser, amenerFrench
  • sìolaidhScottish Gaelic
  • basigarIdo
  • abbassareItalian
  • 下ろす, 下げるJapanese
  • شۆڕ کردنKurdish
  • subsum, discedoLatin
  • whakaheke, whakahaka, whakamahuruMāori
  • baixar, abaixar, descer, rebaixar, diminuir, reduzir, baratearPortuguese
  • унизиться, понизиться, опускать, спускать, понижаться, снижать, унижаться, снижаться, унизить, снизиться, опустить, понижать, спустить, снизить, унижать, понизитьRussian
  • spustiti, poniziti, sniziti, smanjiti, poniziti se, uniziti, uniziti seSerbo-Croatian
  • abaxhî, dischinde, baxhî, rabaxhîWalloon

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"lower." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LTD, 2026. Web. 22 Jul 2026. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/lower>.

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    express strong disapproval of
    A adventure
    B fudge
    C condemn
    D deny

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