nadir

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noun na·dir \ ˈnā-ˌdir , ˈnā-dər \

Definition of nadir

1 :the point of the celestial sphere that is directly opposite the zenith and vertically downward from the observer

2 :the lowest point

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Examples of nadir in a Sentence

Nantucket reached its nadir in the post-Civil War period. The whaling industry had become moribund, many New Englanders had been lured to California by the discovery of gold, and the island population dropped from ten thousand in 1830 to scarcely more than three thousand in 1880. —David H. Wood, Antiques, August 1995
But then, at the very nadir of that dark abandoned moment, that moment of despair and sickness unto death, … —T. Coraghessan Boyle, The Road to Wellville, 1993
My nadir was the time I presented an oral book report on "Les Misérables," having read only the Classic Comics version … —Stephen Jay Gould, New York Times Book Review, 12 Oct. 1986
The relationship between the two countries reached a nadir in the 1920s.
the discussion really reached its nadir when people resorted to name-calling

Recent Examples of nadir from the Web

The night reached its nadir when veteran right-hander Blake Wood entered for the eighth, walked the bases loaded, gave up three run-scoring hits and then plunked the home-plate umpire in the mask with a wild pitch.

— zach buchanan, Cincinnati.com, "Homer Bailey leaves with shoulder issue, but isn’t worried," 23 Aug. 2017
The country notices when Trump is treated as the nadir of all evil.

— berny belvedere, National Review, "The Destructive Power of Progressive Overreach," 22 Aug. 2017
Hoyer, who had been performing well during training camp, struggled early against the Broncos and reached a nadir late in the first quarter.

— geoffrey c. arnold, OregonLive.com, "San Francisco 49ers offensive ineptness leaves Kyle Shanahan 'p----- off'," 21 Aug. 2017
Its stock closed at $42 on Monday, nearly double from the company’s recent nadir in December 2015.

— jonathan vanian, Fortune, "NetApp CEO on Amazon, Donald Trump, and Silicon Valley Hubris," 15 Aug. 2017
In fact, Paniai suffered a nadir just two months after Jokowi’s October inauguration.

— Time, "‘A Tragic, Forgotten Place.' Poverty and Death in Indonesia's Land of Gold," 3 Aug. 2017
The exercise will reach a nadir of sorts later this week, if things go as planned.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Trumpcare Is the Worst-Designed Social Policy in History," 24 July 2017
Trump is already four points less popular than Obama was at the nadir of his ratings, which came six years into his presidency.

— benjamin hart, Daily Intelligencer, "Poll: Trump Historically Unpopular at Presidency’s Six-Month Mark," 16 July 2017
Angelos wanted to fire Regan after the Orioles’ disappointing season reached a nadir with four straight losses in Boston, but the owner held off, thinking a change would detract from the streak celebration soon to occur.

— john eisenberg, SI.com, "Comparing six major points of the Lou Gehrig and Cal Ripken Jr. consecutive-games streaks," 4 July 2017

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

nadir Has Arabic Roots

Nadir is part of the galaxy of scientific words that have come to us from Arabic, a language that has made important contributions in the vocabulary of mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and chemistry. Nadir derives from an Arabic word meaning "opposite"—the opposite, that is, of the zenith, or the highest point of the celestial sphere, the one vertically above the observer. (The word zenith itself is a modification of another Arabic word that means "the way over one's head.") The English poet John Donne is first on record as having used nadir in the figurative sense of "lowest point" in a sermon he wrote in 1627.