bottom

SayBO-tuhm/ˈbɑ.təm/UK/ˈbɒ.təm/

Pluralbottoms

Verbbottoms, bottoming, bottomed

29 meanings of bottom

Practice

1
lowest partnouncountable or uncountable
The lowest part of something, its underside, or the part on which it rests.
She wrote her name at the bottom of the page.
We waited at the bottom of the stairs.
UsageSay at the bottom of: at the bottom of the page.
Similarbase, foot, underside
Oppositetop
Note
2
lowest (before nouns)adjective
Lowest in position, or last in order or rank.
Put the heavy books on the bottom shelf.
She was in the bottom group for math.
UsagePut it before a noun: the bottom shelf. To compare, say lower or lowest.
Similarlowest, lower
Oppositetop, highest, upper, uppermost
3
nouncountable or uncountable
The lowest or last place in a list, group, or competition.
Our team finished at the bottom of the league.
He started at the bottom and worked his way up.
UsageSay at the bottom of the list. Start at the bottom means begin with the lowest job.
Oppositetop
4
sea floornouncountable or uncountable
The ground under the water of a sea, lake, or river.
The anchor hit the bottom in twenty meters of water.
Crabs live on the sandy bottom of the bay.
UsageThings lie on the bottom or at the bottom of the sea.
Similarfloor, bed
Oppositesurface
5
backsidenouneuphemisticcountable or uncountable
A polite word for the part of the body that a person sits on.
The toddler fell and landed on his bottom.
She slipped on the ice and landed on her bottom.
UsageSafe to use with children; softer than butt or arse.
Similarbutt, behind, backside, bum, buttocks
Note
6
root causenouncountable or uncountable
The most basic or most important part of something, such as the real cause.
Money was at the bottom of all their arguments.
The police want to get to the bottom of the fire.
UsageGet to the bottom of something means find out why it happened.
Similarheart, root, core, essence, basis
Note
7
home half (baseball)nouncountable or uncountable
In baseball, the second half of an inning, when the home team bats.
They scored twice in the bottom of the ninth.
The bottom of the first inning took twenty minutes.
Oppositetop
Note
8
trousersnouncountable or uncountable
A piece of clothing worn on the lower half of the body, such as trousers or shorts.
The bikini bottom was a different color from the top.
Her pajama bottoms were too long.
UsageUsually plural: pajama bottoms. One piece of a set can be a bottom.
Similartrousers, pants
Oppositetop
9
hit a lowverbintransitive
To drop to its lowest level, usually before rising again.
House prices bottomed last year and are now rising.
Experts think the market will bottom soon.
UsageYou can also say bottom out.
Similartrough
Oppositepeak, top
Note
10
hollow (land)nounUScountable or uncountable
Low, flat land in a valley or next to a river, often called 'bottoms'.
Fog settles in the bottom on cold mornings.
The creek runs through a wooded bottom.
Similarvalley, hollow, lowland
Note

Less common meanings

11
far endnouncountable or uncountable
The far end of something long, such as a garden or a street.
The shed is at the bottom of the garden.
Turn left at the bottom of the road.
UsageAt the bottom of the garden or street means at the far end.
Similarend, foot
Oppositetop
Note
12
receptive (gay sex)nounslangcountable
In sex, the person who takes the receiving or less controlling role, the opposite of a top.
His profile said he was a bottom.
The two friends joked that they were both bottoms.
Oppositetop
Note
13
verbslangintransitive
To be the partner who receives or gives up control in sex.
He says he has never bottomed.
Some men only bottom with partners they trust.
Oppositetop
Note
14
genitaladjective
Relating to the genitals, in words about transgender care such as 'bottom surgery'.
She is on a waiting list for bottom surgery.
The clinic offers both top and bottom procedures.
Similargenital
Oppositetop
Note
15
verbtransitive
To reach or hit the lowest point of something, so it cannot go any further down.
Push the plunger down slowly until you feel it bottom.
Turn the screw until it bottoms in the hole.
16
fit a seatverbtransitive
To put a new seat or base on something, such as a chair.
He learned to bottom chairs with woven cane.
The old rocker was bottomed with rush.
Note
17
base onverbtransitive
To base something on a particular idea or principle, an old and formal use.
The judge bottomed his ruling on an old law.
Lawyers must bottom every claim on the written record.
Similarground, base, found, predicate
Note
18
line the floorverbtransitive
To lie underneath something or form its lowest layer, usually in the passive.
The little pond behind our house is bottomed with soft mud.
The little pond is bottomed with soft mud and old leaves.
Similarunderlie, line, floor
Note
19
cargo shipnouncountable or uncountable
A ship, especially one that carries cargo, an old sea word.
The goods went to India in English bottoms.
No foreign bottom could carry the colony's tea.
Similarship, vessel, hull
Note
20
backbonenoundatedBritishuncountable
In British slang, strength of character, or the ability to keep going.
The old sergeant had bottom, and the men knew it.
Critics said the young minister lacked bottom.
Similarbackbone, character, grit, integrity, mettle
Note
21
noun
Short for bottom quark: a heavy kind of quark, one of the tiny particles that make up matter.
22
noun
In music, the low instruments of a band, such as the bass.
23
noun
Whiskey or other strong drink at the bottom of a glass, with soda added later.
24
noun
A ball of thread, or the case a silkworm spins.
25
nounrare
A spool that thread is wound around.
BOTTOM, a trundle or quill of gold thread. See TRUNDLE. Argent three bottoms, in fess gules, the thread or; name, Hoby, of Badland.
1866, Hugh Clark, An Introduction to Heraldry ... Eighteenth edition. Revised and corrected by J. R. Planché
26
nounobsolete
Small bits of solid matter that settle at the base of a liquid.
27
verb
To put liquor in a glass before adding soda.
28
verbobsolete
To wind thread into a ball.
As you vnwinde her loue from him, / Lest it should rauel and be good to none, / You must prouide to bottome it on me.
c. 1590, William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”
29
verbobsolete
To depend on something as its base.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of bottom apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

It comes from Old English "botm," meaning the lowest part or ground, which goes back to older Germanic and Proto-Indo-European roots meaning "bottom." The meaning of a person's rear was already in use by the late 1700s.

Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

Bottom comes from Old English botm, meaning the lowest part or ground. en.wiktionary.org
The Old English word derives from older Germanic and Proto-Indo-European roots meaning bottom. en.wiktionary.org
The sense predates 1794: Boswell's account of laughter at 'bottom' and the subsequent pun on 'fundamentally' in a conversation dated 20 April 1781 implies that the anatomical meaning was already understood. gutenberg.org