lower

verb low·er \ ˈlau̇(-ə)r , ˈlō-ər \

variants: or less commonly lour play \ˈlau̇(-ə)r\

Definition of lower

intransitive verb

1 :to look sullen :frown

2 :to be or become dark, gloomy, and threatening

an overcast sky lowered over the village

Recent Examples of lower from the Web

The president and the GOP agree on the broad goals: Simplifying the tax code, lowering the rate for corporations from the current 15-35 percent range, and bringing relief for the middle class.

— Washington Post, "Push to simplify taxes is on but don’t touch some deductions," 31 Aug. 2017
Last fall, those projections were lowered to 2,800 a day.

— cameron knight, Cincinnati.com, "Streetcar's second year: Ridership projections cut in half," 30 Aug. 2017
In April 2016, the schools decided to lower the ticket allotment for the visiting school from 5,500 to 3,500, so presumably that modification was in effect for last year's game at Louisville.

— steve jones, The Courier-Journal, "Louisville vs. Kentucky Governor's Cup football series extended through 2022," 29 Aug. 2017
Although the medical facility did well this year, one improvement Kayichian said hospital officials are working on is lowering the wait time for patients in the emergency department.

— jeff landa, Glendale News-Press, "Adventist Health Glendale ranks high in multiple areas in latest ‘Best Hospitals’ list," 29 Aug. 2017
Early detection and prompt treatment can lower the risk of the illnesses becoming a more serious disease.

— jonece starr dunigan, AL.com, "West Nile claims one life in Alabama, 9 cases being investigated," 25 Aug. 2017
And on top of that, Whole Foods's entire pricing structure will be lowered to accommodate more customers, as the chain has been suffering from a sharp decline in revenue in recent years.

— devon ivie, Teen Vogue, "Amazon Prime Users Will Soon Get Discounts at Whole Foods," 24 Aug. 2017
Medical advances, such as blood transfusions and surgical techniques, have lowered mortality rates to one in 10,000.

— joanna petrone, Longreads, "Pregnant, then Ruptured," 18 Aug. 2017
It’s no surprise that AMC would come out swinging at any service that ultimately lowers the company’s own value.

— yohana desta, vanityfair.com, "A Much Cheaper MoviePass Has AMC Up in Arms," 16 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lower.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of lower

Middle English louren; akin to Middle High German lūren to lie in wait

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

lower

noun

variants: or less commonly lour

Definition of lower

:frown

Examples of lower in a Sentence

he turned to see the scornful lower on her face

Recent Examples of lower from the Web

At night, the register lowers, minor keys are invoked, and (thanks to the subwoofers) the sounds drop down from the canopy to the level of the body.

— leah ollman, latimes.com, "Composer John Luther Adams' new campus 'Wind Garden' art installation is heard more than it is seen," 23 Aug. 2017
Delays are expected across all TriMet transit platforms as vehicles operate at lowers speeds to avoid overheating.

— the oregonian/oregonlive, OregonLive.com, "Portland heat wave: Record heat continues, winds poised to clear haze," 3 Aug. 2017
The House Republicans -- primarily through their control of the House committee that oversees tax policy -- have thwarted attempts to replace the tax revenue that will be lost when the sales tax lowers.

— julia o'donoghue, NOLA.com, "Louisiana House Democrats play hardball on budget, block construction," 25 May 2017
Airlines are correct that overbooking lowers average cost per seat.

— edward lotterman, Twin Cities, "Real World Economics: What big banks and airlines have in common," 15 Apr. 2017
The agent ultimately paid Crowninshield a total of $920 for those two blanks and for the service of milling the four lowers.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Man Gets Three Years In Prison for Selling CNC Milled Gun Parts," 20 Feb. 2017
WASHINGTON – New parents, get ready to feed your babies peanut-containing foods – starting young lowers their chances of becoming allergic.

— lauran neergaard, Orange County Register, "New advice to parents: Peanuts in baby’s diet can prevent scary allergy," 5 Jan. 2017

First Known Use of lower

14th century

lower Synonyms

Synonyms

face, frown, grimace (also lour), moue, mouth, mow, mug, pout, scowl, snoot

Related Words

flinch, squinch, wince; growl, snarl; rictus, simper, smirk; scoff, sneer; glare, glower, look, stare

Near Antonyms

grin, laugh, smile

lower

adjective low·er \ ˈlō-ər \

Definition of lower

1 :relatively low in position, rank, or order

2 :southern

lower New York State

3 :less advanced in the scale of evolutionary development

4 a :situated or held to be situated beneath the earth's surface

b capitalized :being an earlier epoch or series of the period or system named

Lower Cretaceous

Lower Paleolithic

5 :constituting the popular and often the larger and more representative branch of a bicameral legislative body

lower house

See lower defined for English-language learners

Examples of lower in a Sentence

the ship's upper and lower decks
The message appeared on the lower portion of the screen.
the mountain's upper and lower slopes
The forecast is for strong winds at lower elevations.
in the lower and higher latitudes
the lower and upper peninsulas

Recent Examples of lower from the Web

Stripers continue to bite around dock lights in the lower end of the lake on live minnows or white bucktails.

— frank sargeant, AL.com, "Friday Fishing Report," 25 Aug. 2017
About 72 percent of them are, like Lopez, operations and logistics workers paid by the hour and on the lower end of the salary scale, according to data released for the first time by the company.

— Ángel gonzález, The Seattle Times, "No two-tier benefits: Amazon warehouse workers get same parental leave as corporate staff," 21 Aug. 2017
The women slept in the special sleeper-car that belonged to J.B. Hill, president of the line at the time, while the men were in the Pullman car with upper and lower berths.

— nancy stearns theiss, The Courier-Journal, "Entertainment on the L&N railroad fond memories for residents," 8 Aug. 2017
Experts say the dearth of listings has aggressively driven up prices as prospective buyers compete for available properties, pushing many buyers at the lower end of the market to the sidelines.

— randy tucker, Cincinnati.com, "Some first-time home buyers hit affordability wall in Cincinnati," 27 July 2017
Women who are on the list tend to be on the lower end of the salary scale, too.

— krystin arneson, Glamour, "The BBC's Highest Profile Female Employees Are Protesting the Company's Glaring Pay Gap," 23 July 2017
If your fish is on the smaller side, take it out on the lower end of the range.

— anya tchoupakov, Bon Appetit, "22 Healthy Salmon Recipes That Make Us Swoon For Fish," 11 July 2017
Lower rates of teen tobacco use may mean that fewer students go on to try harder substances.

— christopher ingraham, The Cannabist, "Georgia students file civil rights suit after physically invasive drug search," 7 June 2017
The 14 million Americans who would have been covered under Medicaid in 2026 under Obamacare will instead have to pay the out-of-pocket costs in the chart above — and most of those people are at the lower end of the income spectrum.

— philip bump, Washington Post, "How the CBO thinks the Republican health-care bill will affect your pocketbook," 24 May 2017

Origin and Etymology of lower

³low

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

lower Synonyms

Synonyms

inferior, junior, less, lesser, minor, smaller, subordinate

Antonyms

greater, higher, major, more, primary, prime, senior, superior, superordinate

Related Words

little, mean, small; minute, petty; jerkwater, one-horse, second-class, second-rate, two-bit; associate, auxiliary, secondary, subsidiary

Near Antonyms

choice, exceptional, first-class, first-rate

lower

verb low·er \ ˈlō-ər \

Definition of lower

intransitive verb

:to move down :drop; also :diminish

transitive verb

1 a :to let descend :let down

b :to depress as to direction

lower your aim

c :to reduce the height of

2 a :to reduce in value, number, or amount

b (1) :to bring down in quality or character :degrade

(2) :abase, humble

c :to reduce the objective of

— lower the boom

:to deal a crushing blow or punishment

Recent Examples of lower from the Web

The president and the GOP agree on the broad goals: Simplifying the tax code, lowering the rate for corporations from the current 15-35 percent range, and bringing relief for the middle class.

— Washington Post, "Push to simplify taxes is on but don’t touch some deductions," 31 Aug. 2017
Last fall, those projections were lowered to 2,800 a day.

— cameron knight, Cincinnati.com, "Streetcar's second year: Ridership projections cut in half," 30 Aug. 2017
In April 2016, the schools decided to lower the ticket allotment for the visiting school from 5,500 to 3,500, so presumably that modification was in effect for last year's game at Louisville.

— steve jones, The Courier-Journal, "Louisville vs. Kentucky Governor's Cup football series extended through 2022," 29 Aug. 2017
Although the medical facility did well this year, one improvement Kayichian said hospital officials are working on is lowering the wait time for patients in the emergency department.

— jeff landa, Glendale News-Press, "Adventist Health Glendale ranks high in multiple areas in latest ‘Best Hospitals’ list," 29 Aug. 2017
Early detection and prompt treatment can lower the risk of the illnesses becoming a more serious disease.

— jonece starr dunigan, AL.com, "West Nile claims one life in Alabama, 9 cases being investigated," 25 Aug. 2017
And on top of that, Whole Foods's entire pricing structure will be lowered to accommodate more customers, as the chain has been suffering from a sharp decline in revenue in recent years.

— devon ivie, Teen Vogue, "Amazon Prime Users Will Soon Get Discounts at Whole Foods," 24 Aug. 2017
Medical advances, such as blood transfusions and surgical techniques, have lowered mortality rates to one in 10,000.

— joanna petrone, Longreads, "Pregnant, then Ruptured," 18 Aug. 2017
It’s no surprise that AMC would come out swinging at any service that ultimately lowers the company’s own value.

— yohana desta, vanityfair.com, "A Much Cheaper MoviePass Has AMC Up in Arms," 16 Aug. 2017

First Known Use of lower

1575

LOWER Defined for English Language Learners

lower

adjective

Definition of lower for English Language Learners

: located below another or others of the same kind
: located toward the bottom part of something
: not high above the ground

LOWER Defined for Kids

lower

adjective low·er \ ˈlō-ər \

Definition of lower for Students

1 :located below another or others of the same kind

a lower floor

2 :located toward the bottom part of something

the lower back

3 :placed below another or others in rank or order

a lower court

4 :less advanced or developed

lower animals

lower

verb

Definition of lower for Students

lowered; lowering

1 :to move to a level or position that is below or less than an earlier one

The sun lowered in the west.

2 :to let or pull down

He lowered a flag.

3 :to make or become less (as in value, amount, or volume)

The store lowered the price.

4 :to reduce the height of

We'll lower the fence.

Medical Dictionary

lower

noun

medical Definition of lower

:the lower member of a pair; especially :a lower denture

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lower

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Synonyms

Antonyms

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lower

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lower

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lower

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