low

Less common meanings

10. 10
    adjective

    Nearly depleted or lacking in supply; close to being used up or running out.

    Supplies ran low during the second week of the hike.

    The printer is low on ink again, so order another cartridge.

    UsageBe low on or run low on something: we're low on milk, supplies ran low.

    Similarreduced, depleted, expended

    Oppositefull, plentiful, ample

11. 11
    adjective

    Quiet or soft in volume; spoken or sounding gently rather than loudly.

    They kept their voices low in the reading room of the library.

    He answered in a low murmur that the others could barely hear.

    UsageCommon in in a low voice and keep your voice low.

    Similarsoft, quiet, faint, hushed, muffled

    Oppositeloud, raised

    Note

    Here low measures volume, not pitch: low voices, low volume. Shakespeare gives it its most quotable line in Much Ado About Nothing: "Speak low if you speak love." For sound that has been turned down, at a low volume is the natural frame, as in keeping the radio at a low volume. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing contains the exact quotation; its speaker is Don Pedro. rsc.org.uk
12. 12
    deep-pitchedadjective

    Deep or grave in pitch, the result of comparatively slow sound vibrations; the opposite of high or shrill.

    The cello's low notes filled the back of the hall.

    A low rumble of thunder rolled across the plains.

    UsageA low voice can mean deep or quiet; say deep or low-pitched to be clear about pitch.

    Similardeep, low-pitched

    Oppositehigh, high-pitched, shrill

    Note

    Acoustics measures it in vibration: slower oscillations make a deeper note. The trap is that a low voice can also carry the "quiet" meaning. "Men usually have lower voices than women" is about pitch, while "they spoke in low voices" is about volume. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Slower vibrations produce a lower pitch. med.umn.edu
    • Men usually have lower-pitched voices than women. magazine.hms.harvard.edu
13. 13
    adjective

    Depressed or dejected in mood; sad, discouraged, or lacking in spirits.

    After the funeral, she was low for weeks and rarely went out.

    Failing the bar exam left him feeling low and unsure of his future.

    UsageAfter feel or be: feel low. Also the fixed phrase low spirits.

    Similarsad, unhappy, down, blue, depressed

    Oppositehappy, cheerful, elated, upbeat

    Note

    A mood word most at home after feel or be, as in Rick Riordan's "As low as I felt" (2016), and in the fixed phrase low spirits. The noun "a low" carries the same feeling stretched over a period of time. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • The exact words “As low as I felt” occur in Rick Riordan’s The Hammer of Thor. en.wiktionary.org
    • The quoted work was first published in 2016. libcat.weber.edu
14. 14
    adjective

    Wrong, mean, or unfair in a way that earns contempt, describing a person's character or something they do, such as a trick.

    Taking credit for his intern's research was a low trick, and the whole department knew it.

    Taking credit for a friend's hard work is about as low as it gets.

    UsageCommon in a low trick, a low blow and as low as it gets; it was low of him to do it.

    Similarmean, despicable, contemptible, dirty, shabby

    Oppositenoble, decent, honorable

    Note

    Here the downward scale of the "low in rank" meaning turns into a moral judgment on conduct beneath decency. It is at home in measuring phrases, as if behavior had a floor: as low as it gets, stoop so low, a new low. Applied to a move, a trick or a blow, it condemns the act; applied to a person, it is a harsher verdict on character.

15. 15
    nouncountable

    An area where the atmospheric pressure is below that of the surrounding air; a weather depression.

    A deep low moving in from the Pacific will bring heavy rain by Friday.

    Forecasters tracked two lows forming over the warm waters of the Gulf.

    UsageOften with deep: a deep low is moving in. Also called a low-pressure area or depression.

    Similardepression, cyclone

    Oppositehigh, anticyclone

    Note

    Weather talk names it in one syllable: a low, the informal partner of depression. Lows are described by their intensity, as in a deep low centered over the British Isles. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Low has one syllable. en.wiktionary.org
    • Lows can be classified by intensity, with deep describing an intense low. about.metservice.com
16. 16
    adjective

    Lacking health, strength, or vitality; feeble or weak.

    After weeks of fever, she was too low to cross the room without help.

    By the end of the week the old horse was so low that the vet doubted it would survive the night.

    Similarweak, feeble, frail, faint, exhausted

    Oppositestrong, healthy, robust, vigorous

    Note

    The weakness here is bodily, not emotional: a low pulse, a patient laid low by sickness. Keep it apart from the "sad" meaning. Low after a fever means weak; low after bad news means dejected.

17. 17
    primitiveadjectivedated

    Simple in complexity or in stage of development.

    Early naturalists believed that the lower organisms could arise spontaneously from mud and rotting meat.

    In the case of languages spoken by very low races, like the Puris and the Tasmanians, the difficulty of deciding such a point must be very great.

    1870, Edward Burnett Tylor, Researches Into the Early History of Mankind and the Development of Civilization

    Similarprimitive, simple, basic, rudimentary, elementary

    Oppositehigh, advanced, complex, sophisticated

    Note

    Biologists long used it to rank organisms, as in low protozoan animals and low cryptogamic plants: low organisms were the structurally simple ones. The same scale was once turned on people. Edward Burnett Tylor's Researches into the Early History of Mankind writes of "very low races," a ranking of peoples that a careful writer today would not repeat. Modern biology no longer ranks living things on a single ladder, so describe the specific simple feature instead. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • Biologists historically ranked organisms as higher or lower. en.wikipedia.org
    • The biological sense denotes simplicity of complexity or development, with the stated examples. en.wiktionary.org
    • Edward Burnett Tylor wrote Researches into the Early History of Mankind. en.wikisource.org
    • Tylor himself used the exact phrase "very low races" to rank peoples. en.wikisource.org
    • Modern evolutionary biology rejects a single ranking of living organisms on a ladder. catalogimages.wiley.com
18. 18
    necklineadjective

    Of a garment or neckline: cut to leave the neck and upper chest exposed.

    Her low gown drew glances, so she draped a shawl across her shoulders and chest.

    The bridesmaids' dresses were elegant but not too low for the church ceremony.

    UsageBefore dress or top, low-cut is more common: a low-cut dress, but a low neckline.

    Similarplunging, revealing

    Oppositehigh, high-necked

    Note

    A garment word: Mary Eliza Joy Haweis, in The Art of Beauty (1878), writes of "the low neck fashion" and of mothers who "wore low dresses and bare arms all day long." The adjective attaches to the dress or the neckline, not the wearer, and on its own it does the work of the compound low-cut. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • Mary Eliza Joy Haweis wrote The Art of Beauty. en.wiktionary.org
    • The Art of Beauty was first published in 1878. routledge.com
    • Haweis uses the exact phrase “the low neck fashion.” en.wiktionary.org
    • Haweis writes that mothers “wore low dresses and bare arms all day long.” en.wiktionary.org
19. 19
    talk quietlyadverb

    In a quiet or soft voice or tone; not loudly; gently.

    The two men talked low in the corner of the tavern.

    "Stay close," she said low, scanning the dark hallway.

    UsageAfter the verb, with no -ly: speak low, talk low.

    Similarquietly, softly

    Oppositeloudly, loud

    Note

    Tennyson lends it to the wind in Eleanore, where it "breathes low between the sunset and the moon." The verb usually settles whether low means quiet or deep. Speaking and breathing are matters of volume, while singing is often a matter of pitch. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Alfred Tennyson wrote Eleanore. en.wiktionary.org
    • In Eleanore, the wind “breathes low between the sunset and the moon.” en.wikisource.org
20. 20
    first gearnoununcountable

    The lowest gear of a transmission, giving the slowest speed and the most pulling power, especially first gear in a motor vehicle.

    She shifted into low to climb the gravel switchbacks.

    Keep the truck in low on the way down the pass so the engine does the braking.

    UsageWith in or into: keep it in low, shift into low.

    Similarfirst

    Oppositehigh, top

21. 21
    adjective

    Designed to run at a slow speed, or at the slowest speed available.

    Shift into a low gear before the road starts to climb.

    On its low setting, the ceiling fan barely stirs the air.

    Similarslow

    Oppositehigh

    Note

    A machine word, said of a gear or a setting: low gear, the low setting on a fan. Drop the noun and the adjective becomes the noun "low", as in shift out of low. The meaning stays the same; only the grammar changes.

22. 22
    deep-pitchedadverb

    At a deep pitch; at a reduced sound frequency.

    The bass singer can go remarkably low, well below the rest of the choir.

    Tune the string lower until the note matches the deep hum of the organ.

    UsageAfter the verb: sing low, go low, tune it lower.

    Similardeep

    Oppositehigh

    Note

    Shakespeare's singer in Twelfth Night "can sing both high and low," and that pairing is where the pitch adverb is most at home. A hushed voice that is soft rather than deep belongs instead to the "softly" adverb. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • William Shakespeare wrote Twelfth Night. gutenberg.org
    • The Clown sings the words "can sing both high and low" in Twelfth Night, Act II, Scene III. gutenberg.org
23. 23
    adjective

    Of a pitch: passing below the batter's knees.

    The 3–2 pitch was low, and the batter walked.

    He chased a low slider in the dirt and struck out swinging.

    Oppositehigh

    Note

    An umpire's word for the ball, never the batter: the pitch was low, the ball was low. The yardstick is the batter's own knees, so the line moves with whoever stands at the plate. Its opposite is high. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • The lower strike-zone boundary depends on the individual batter's knees and stance. littleleague.org
24. 24
    adjective

    Disparaging; assigning or expressing little value, merit, or excellence.

    She has a low opinion of restaurants that rush their customers.

    The old professor held the new textbook in low regard and refused to assign it to his students.

    UsageCommon in a low opinion of and hold something in low regard.

    Similardisdainful, contemptuous, dismissive, scornful, disrespectful

    Oppositehigh, favorable

    Note

    The judgment carries the word, not the thing judged: a low opinion, a low view, low thoughts. It is the estimate that is low, so someone with a low opinion of cats says nothing about the cats themselves. Ebenezer Erskine turns it inward, "the humble soul has low thoughts of his own person," which is where it meets the "humble" meaning. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • The quotation belongs to a sermon preached on 27 July 1721. The 1826 date cited by Wiktionary identifies a later collected edition. monergism.com
    • Ebenezer Erskine used the quoted wording about the humble soul. monergism.com
25. 25
    nounslanguncountable

    A cheap, advantageous, or bargain price.

    He furnished his whole apartment for the low by hitting estate sales.

    Sneakerheads brag about copping rare pairs for the low.

    Similarcheap

    Note

    Slang that usually takes the: he got the brand-new Yankees jersey for the low. The frame for the low means at a bargain, and outside it the noun is easily misheard, since a low alone suggests a bottom point. Keep it to casual talk about buying and selling.

26. 26
    card valueadjective

    Of a card, denomination, or suit: lesser in value or rank than others in the game.

    She drew nothing but low cards and folded before the bets got serious.

    In this variant, aces count low, so a run of ace-two-three is possible.

    Similarsmall

    Oppositehigh

    Note

    Card players apply it to a whole ranking, not only to single cards: a low card, but also a low denomination or a low suit. Where a card stands depends on each game's own order, which is why aces can count low in one variant. In some games, such as all fours, the lowest trump is itself called the low. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • Card rankings depend on the game's rules, and aces can rank low. en.wikipedia.org
    • In all fours, the lowest trump dealt is called low. en.wikisource.org
27. 27
    voweladjective

    Of a speech sound, especially a vowel: made with the tongue positioned low in the mouth, leaving a large opening between tongue and palate.

    The vowel in 'palm' is low, produced with the jaw dropped and the tongue kept flat.

    English contrasts low vowels like the one in 'cat' with high vowels like the one in 'see'.

    Similaropen

    Oppositehigh, close

    Note

    Phonetics describes the same vowel in two ways: by where the tongue sits, low in the mouth, or by the gap it leaves, a large opening below the palate. Both pictures name one articulation. Low pairs with high, the vowel made with the tongue raised toward the palate, and between them lies the scale on which vowels are sorted by height. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • A low vowel has a low tongue position and a large opening; these describe the same articulation. socialsci.libretexts.org
    • High vowels are articulated with the tongue raised toward the roof of the mouth. ebooks.inflibnet.ac.in
    • Vowels are classified along a height scale between high and low. opentextbc.ca
28. 28
    verbintransitive

    To make the deep, drawn-out call of cattle; to moo.

    Hungry calves low at the gate each morning until the feed truck arrives.

    Somewhere past the barn, a single cow lowed in the dark.

    Similarmoo, bellow

    Note

    This verb is a separate word from the adjective for "not high", though spelled the same: it comes from Old English hlōwan, "to bellow, roar", from a root meaning "to call". It is at home in rural and poetic writing, where the participle often stands before a noun, as in Thomas Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard: "The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea." Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • The cattle-call verb has a separate etymology from the adjective and descends from Old English hlōwan, meaning to low, bellow or roar. en.wiktionary.org
    • The verb ultimately derives from a reconstructed root meaning to call. en.wiktionary.org
    • Thomas Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard contains the quoted line, with lowing before herd. thomasgray.org
29. 29
    adjectivearchaic

    Humble or meek; not proud or haughty.

    God loves an humble soul. It is not our high birth, but our low hearts God delights in.

    1829, Thomas Watson, Discourses on Important and Interesting Subjects
30. 30
    adjectivearchaic

    Dead or struck down, especially after be, lie or lay, as in laid low by an assassin's bullet.

    And wilt thou weep when I am low?

    1830, George Gordon Byron Baron Byron, Byron's Poems
31. 31
    adjective

    Belonging to the lowlands of a region, nearer sea level than the land around them, or describing the speech used there rather than in the uplands.
32. 32
    adjective

    In video and role-playing games, with only a few hit points left and near defeat.
33. 33
    adjective

    Preferring plainer, less elaborate ways in church or politics, as in Low Church or Low Tory.
34. 34
    adjective

    Close to the equator, at a small latitude.
35. 35
    adjectivearchaic

    Of a diet: plain and bland, giving just enough food to live on.

    The Physicians ordered a low diet, and cooling ptisans in great abundance.

    1789, John Moore, Zeluco
36. 36
    noun

    In some card games, the lowest trump card, usually the two, or the lowest trump that is dealt or drawn.
37. 37
    adverb

    In a humble, poor, or lowly way.
38. 38
    adverb

    At a later date, nearer to the present day.
39. 39
    adverb

    Of a heavenly body, on a daily path across the sky that stays near the horizon or near the celestial equator.
40. 40
    verbobsolete

    To bring something down or make it less high.

    Dat 'ill be somtin' ta hise an' low wi' a ütterly breeze.

    1899, Shetland News
41. 41
    verbobsolete

    An obsolete past tense form of the verb laugh.
42. 42
    noundialectalScotlandUK

    A fire or burning flame.
43. 43
    verbdialectalScotlandUK

    To burn brightly or flare up.
44. 44
    nounobsolete

    A burial mound or heap of earth piled over a grave.

    A barrow or Low, such as were usually cast up over the bodies of eminent Captains.

    1686, Robert Plot, The natural history of Staffordshire
45. 45
    nounarchaicScottish

    A rise in the land, a hill.

    And some they brought the brown lint-seed, and flung it down from the Low.

    1847, Mary Howitt, Ballads and other poems
46. 46
    verbdialectal

    Clipped form of allow, meaning to permit or admit.