low·down

[n. loh-doun; adj. loh-doun] Informal.
noun
1.
the real and unadorned facts; the true, secret, or inside information (usually preceded by the ): We gave them the lowdown on the new housing project.
adjective
2.
contemptible; base; mean: a lowdown trick.
3.
low, especially socially or morally; degraded.

Origin:
1540–50; low1 + down1

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To lowdown
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

lowdown
also low down, low-down, "vulgar," 1888, from low (adj.) + down (adv.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
00:10
Lowdown is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
Slang Dictionary

lowdown definition


  1. mod.
    rotten; bad. : What a dirty, lowdown thing to do.
  2. n.
    the facts on something; the scuttlebuttabout something. : What's the lowdown on that funny statue in the park?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Get the lowdown on several highway innovations through the medium of video.
Here, briefly, is the lowdown on what certain astronomers are too lazy to find out for themselves.
Here he gives us the lowdown on the heights of human performance.
The honest lowdown on travel products, gadgets and trends.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT