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below

 - 4 dictionary results

be⋅low

[bi-loh]
–adverb
1. in or toward a lower place: Look out below!
2. on, in, or toward a lower level, as a lower deck of a ship: The captain of the ship went below.
3. beneath the surface of the water: Divers were sent below to view the wreck.
4. on earth: the fate of creatures here below.
5. in hell or the infernal regions.
6. at a later point on a page or in a text: See the illustration below. Compare above (def. 5).
7. in a lower rank or grade: He was demoted to the class below.
8. under zero on the temperature scale: The temperature in Buffalo was ten below this morning.
9. Theater. downstage. Compare above (def. 8).
10. Zoology. on the lower or ventral side.
–preposition
11. lower down than: below the knee.
12. lower in rank, degree, amount, rate, etc., than: below cost; below freezing.
13. too low or undignified to be worthy of; beneath: He considered such an action below his notice.
14. Theater. downstage of: There are two chairs below the table.

Origin:
1275–1325; ME bilooghe, equiv. to bi- by (see be- ) + looghe low 1


11. Below, under, beneath indicate position in some way lower than something else. Below implies being in a lower plane: below the horizon, the water line. Under implies being lower in a perpendicular line: The book is under the chair. Beneath may have a meaning similar to below, but more usually denotes being under so as to be covered, overhung, or overtopped: the pool beneath the falls.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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be·low   (bĭ-lō')   
adv.  
  1. In or to a lower place; beneath.

    1. On or to a lower floor; downstairs.

    2. Nautical On or to a lower deck.

    3. In a lower rank or class.

    4. Below zero in temperature: 40° below.

  2. In a later part of a given text: figures quoted below.

  3. Farther down, as along a slope or valley.

  4. In or to hell or Hades.

  5. On the earth.

    1. In a lower rank or class.

    2. Below zero in temperature: 40° below.

prep.  
  1. Underneath; beneath.

  2. Lower than, as on a graduated scale.

  3. Downstream of: launched the canoe just below the bridge.

  4. South of: Guatemala is below Mexico.

  5. Unsuitable to the rank or dignity of: Such petty behavior is below me.


[Middle English bilooghe : bi, by; see by1 + loghe, low; see low1.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: be·low
Function: adverb
1 : in a lower court below…are correct —W. J. Brennan, Junior>
2 : lower on the same page or on a following page below>

Main Entry: below
Function: preposition
: lower in place, rank, or value than—below the line : in calculations that yield taxable income below the line>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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