as in opportunist
one who does things only for his own benefit and with little regard for right and wrong
that bottom-feeder would run over his own mother if it would help him get ahead in his career
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Recent Examples of bottom-feeder
Here’s one out-of-the-box name who fits the high-motor description: Tony Vitello, who transformed the University of Tennessee from a bottom-feeder in the Southeastern Conference into perhaps the brashest and most talented program in the country.
—
Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Here are some methods for scraping good music from the data wasteland, organized in a hierarchy from bottom-feeder basics to more sophisticated and ultimately, uhh, harebrained strategies.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 31 July 2025
With the July 31 trade deadline only two weeks beyond the Atlanta All-Star Game, contenders and would-be contenders are eying the rosters of bottom-feeders to fill the few holes on their rosters.
—Dan Schlossberg, Forbes.com, 7 July 2025
And a lot of them are like the rig shark — smaller bottom-feeders, eaten by larger sharks and humans alike.
—Julie Depenbrock, NPR, 3 Apr. 2025
And with New York dropping the first two games of what was supposed to be a gimme stretch against bottom-feeders, the Knicks’ margin for error is all but gone.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 22 Mar. 2025
The Dawgs have lost seven of nine, and their only two wins in that span are at home against the two SEC bottom-feeders, South Carolina and LSU.
—Jim Root, The Athletic, 13 Feb. 2025
Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Here are some methods for scraping good music from the data wasteland, organized in a hierarchy from bottom-feeder basics to more sophisticated and ultimately, uhh, harebrained strategies.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 31 July 2025
With the July 31 trade deadline only two weeks beyond the Atlanta All-Star Game, contenders and would-be contenders are eying the rosters of bottom-feeders to fill the few holes on their rosters.
—Dan Schlossberg, Forbes.com, 7 July 2025
And a lot of them are like the rig shark — smaller bottom-feeders, eaten by larger sharks and humans alike.
—Julie Depenbrock, NPR, 3 Apr. 2025
And with New York dropping the first two games of what was supposed to be a gimme stretch against bottom-feeders, the Knicks’ margin for error is all but gone.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 22 Mar. 2025
The Dawgs have lost seven of nine, and their only two wins in that span are at home against the two SEC bottom-feeders, South Carolina and LSU.
—Jim Root, The Athletic, 13 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bottom-feeder
Noun
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So there’s really no room for Moulton, who is seen more of an opportunist by Massachusetts political players.—
Joe Battenfeld,
Boston Herald,
16 Oct. 2025
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The Jags are equal opportunists in their one-score adventures.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Ripa kept it fun and simple with a brightly colored pink shark costume to bring the viral children's tune to life with a fun twist.—
Kate Hogan,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
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And while catch and release has become popular with plenty of species from bonefish, tarpon, and permit to smallmouth bass, walleye, and even sharks, few species dominate the catch-and-release culture quite like trout.—
Christine Peterson,
Outdoor Life,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Thus the self-seekers and the doctrinaires were drawn together into an alliance to maintain the status quo, and all its abuses and inequalities were made sacrosanct.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
18 Dec. 2011
Cite this Entry
“Bottom-feeder.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bottom-feeder. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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