lower
1to cause to descend; let or put down: to lower a flag.
to make lower in height or level: to lower the water in a canal.
to reduce in amount, price, degree, force, etc.
to make less loud: Please lower your voice.
Music. to make lower in pitch; flatten.
Phonetics. to alter the articulation of (a vowel) by increasing the distance of the tongue downward from the palate: The vowel of “clerk” is lowered to (ä) in the British pronunciation.
to become lower, grow less, or diminish, as in amount, intensity, or degree: The brook lowers in early summer. Stock prices rise and lower constantly.
to descend; sink: the sun lowering in the west.
comparative of low1.
of or relating to those portions of a river farthest from the source.
(often initial capital letter)Stratigraphy. noting an early division of a period, system, or the like: the Lower Devonian.
a denture for the lower jaw.
a lower berth.
Origin of lower
1Other words for lower
Opposites for lower
Other words from lower
- low·er·a·ble, adjective
Other definitions for lower (2 of 2)
to be dark and threatening, as the sky or the weather.
to frown, scowl, or look sullen; glower: He lowers at people when he's in a bad mood.
a dark, threatening appearance, as of the sky or weather.
a frown or scowl.
Origin of lower
2- Also lour [louuhr, lou-er] /laʊər, ˈlaʊ ər/ .
Other words for lower
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for lower (1 of 2)
/ (ˈləʊə) /
being below one or more other things: the lower shelf; the lower animals
reduced in amount or value: a lower price
maths (of a limit or bound) less than or equal to one or more numbers or variables
(sometimes capital) geology denoting the early part or division of a period, system, formation, etc: Lower Silurian
(tr) to cause to become low or on a lower level; bring, put, or cause to move down
(tr) to reduce or bring down in estimation, dignity, value, etc: to lower oneself
to reduce or be reduced: to lower one's confidence
(tr) to make quieter: to lower the radio
(tr) to reduce the pitch of
(tr) phonetics to modify the articulation of (a vowel) by bringing the tongue further away from the roof of the mouth
(intr) to diminish or become less
Origin of lower
1Derived forms of lower
- lowerable, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for lower (2 of 2)
lour
/ (ˈlaʊə) /
(esp of the sky, weather, etc) to be overcast, dark, and menacing
to scowl or frown
a menacing scowl or appearance
Derived forms of lower
- lowering or louring, adjective
- loweringly or louringly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for lower
[ lō′ər ]
Being an earlier division of the geological or archaeological period named. Compare upper.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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