bottom-up

adjective

bot·​tom-up ˈbä-təm-ˈəp 

: progressing upward from the lowest levels (as of a stratified organization or system)

bottom-up management

Examples of bottom-up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Top-down control and bottom-up insurgency are changing the nation’s politics. — Theodore R. Johnson, Washington Post, 26 Aug. 2026

The seminal book presented a bottom-up view of American history, and Zinn, who lived well into his 80s, never lost faith that small acts of grassroots social struggle have the power to change the world. — Monitor Reviewers, Christian Science Monitor, 21 Aug. 2026

The top-down, bottom-up model of the RSEO is what ensures its authenticity as a corporate entity putting on a skate and punk festival—two subcultures that have always been proudly anti-establishment. — Michelle Bruton, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2026

But the phrase is a useful lens for this newer kind of Chinese statecraft—one of bottom-up investments that compound into interdependence and leverage. — Natalia Cote-Muñoz, Foreign Affairs, 3 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1930, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for bottom-up

• buttercup
• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup