bottom

1 of 3

noun

bot·​tom ˈbä-təm 

1

a

: the underside of something

at the bottom of the box

a cut on the bottom of her foot

The vase is signed on the bottom.

b

: a surface (such as the seat of a chair) designed to support something resting on it

—used figuratively in phrases like the bottom dropped out to describe a sudden collapse or downturn

lost millions when the bottom dropped out of the stock market

c

: buttocks, rump

a baby with a rash on his bottom

2

: the surface on which a body of water lies

sank to the bottom of the ocean

3

nautical

a

: the part of a ship's hull lying below the water

b

: boat, ship

cargo … carried by foreign bottoms

—Virginia A. Oakes

4

a

: the lowest part or place

the bottom of the page

stood at the bottom of the stairs

b

: the remotest or inmost point

sail to the bottom of the bay

c

: the lowest or last place in rank or position

The CEO started at the bottom and worked her way up.

graduated at the bottom of the class

the bottom of the pay scale

d

clothing : the part of a garment worn on the lower part of the body

white tops and navy blue bottoms

a bikini bottom

especially : the pants of pajamas

—usually used in plural

e

baseball : the last half of an inning

the bottom of the ninth

f

music : the bass or baritone instruments of a band

5

geography : bottomland

—usually used in plural

the Mississippi river bottoms

6

: basis, source

trying to get to the bottom of these rumors

7

: capacity (as of a horse) to endure strain

a breed of dogs outstanding for bottom

8

textiles : a foundation color applied to fibers before dyeing

9

physics : a fundamental quark that accounts for the existence and lifetime of upsilon particles and has an electric charge of −¹/₃ and a measured energy of approximately 5 GeV

also : the flavor (see flavor entry 1 sense 4b) characterizing this particle

bottomed

ˈbä-təmd 

adjective

bottom

2 of 3

verb

bottomed; bottoming; bottoms

transitive verb

1

: to furnish (something, such as a chair) with a bottom

2

: to provide a foundation for

men who wanted to bottom the dreams of the Romantics

—Bonamy Dobrée

3

: to bring to the bottom

bottomed the submarine on the ocean floor

4

: to find the basis or source of (something, such as a rumor) : to get to the bottom (see bottom entry 1 sense 6) of

The mystery hasn't been bottomed.

intransitive verb

1

: to become based or grounded

find on what foundation any proposition bottoms

—John Locke

2

: to reach the bottom

bottoming on the sea floor

3

: to reach a point where a decline is halted or reversed

—usually used with out

The team bottomed out in last place.

bottomer noun

bottom

3 of 3

adjective

1

: of, relating to, or situated at the bottom (see bottom entry 1)

bottom rock

2

: frequenting the lowest part or place : frequenting the bottom

bottom fish

Phrases

at bottom

: really, basically

It is, at bottom, a love song.

Synonyms

Noun

• underbelly
• underbody
• underpart
• underside
• undersurface

Adjective

• bottommost
• low
• lowermost
• nethermost
• rock-bottom
• undermost

Examples of bottom in a Sentence

Noun

We sailed to the bottom of the bay.

the bottom of the garden

The poor baby has a rash all over his little bottom.

The company's new CEO started at the bottom and worked her way up.

Why do I always find myself rooting for the team at the bottom of the league?

at the bottom of the pay scale

Adjective

the bottom rung of the ladder

Somebody's fingerprints are all along the bottom edge of the photograph.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

But the Dodgers got that run back in the bottom of the seventh when Teoscar Hernández singled to right, took third on Tatis’ two-base throwing error and scored on Muncy’s sacrifice fly for a 5-2 lead. —Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2024

At bottom, Shapiro’s most lasting fingerprint is on his ability to tamp down biases in others. —Anne Kniggendorf, Kansas City Star, 14 Apr. 2024

After two quick outs in the bottom of the second, Kaden Wharton and Howard both reach and moved to second and third on a passed ball. —Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Apr. 2024

The Rays only scored their second run once Nick Avila entered with a 10-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth. —Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 13 Apr. 2024

Shortstop Ava Garcia hammered a three-run home run following two walks to give Fayetteville a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. —Paul Boyd, arkansasonline.com, 12 Apr. 2024

This pair features a high-rise material that gives us a classic denim look, all thanks to its tornado hem on the bottom. —Larry Stansbury, Essence, 11 Apr. 2024

Everyone limps along in a class system that ranks Toni, a Macedonian, above Dita, an ethnic Albanian, and forces the Romani characters to the bottom. —Amy Nicholson, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024

Various navigation tabs appear at the top of this section, while basic playback and volume controls are at the bottom. —PCMAG, 11 Apr. 2024

Verb

Since bottoming at a level just below 6,500 on March 6, 2009, the Dow Jones Industrial Average now stands around 39,400 — a roughly sixfold increase. —The Arizona Republic, 26 Mar. 2024

About a week later, on March 23, the market bottomed, and the S&P 500 rose about 9.4% the day after. —Wes Moss, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024

After bottoming at $3.07 a gallon in mid-January, the national average climbed to $3.40 a gallon on Friday, according to AAA. —Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024

Temperatures are likely to rapidly fall through the 50s into the 40s during the evening, perhaps dropping about 25 degrees or more in a couple of hours, before bottoming in the upper 30s and low 40s overnight. —Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 8 Dec. 2023

Why gas prices rise as winter ends Gas prices bottomed at $3.07 a gallon nationally on January 15. —Matt Egan, CNN, 16 Feb. 2024

This positive development is supported by the weekly cycle which bottoms this week. —Bill Sarubbi, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024

Meanwhile, housing economists at AEI Housing Center, Zillow, and CoreLogic believe U.S. home prices have bottomed. —Lance Lambert, Fortune, 3 Aug. 2023

Low temperatures probably bottom in the teens for the entire region, with wind chills easily in the single digits. —Jason Samenow, Washington Post, 19 Jan. 2024

Adjective

The midi length falls just below the knees, and the buttons run halfway down the skirt, so the bottom half will move with you. —Nicol Natale, Peoplemag, 15 Apr. 2024

This is critical to remember, as the roots will form from the bottom nodes. —Quincy Bulin, Southern Living, 12 Apr. 2024

Certainly, the promise of free money is attractive to voters, especially those in the bottom half of the income pyramid who don’t have to pay income taxes for the free stuff. —Kevin A. Hassett, National Review, 11 Apr. 2024

Remove tough bottom parts from white and green asparagus. —Yakir Levy, Orange County Register, 11 Apr. 2024

The legislation would tax income at rates of 5.55% in the top bracket and 5.15% in the bottom bracket. —Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2024

For most locations in the United States, the moon will first cover the bottom right section of the sun and appear to slowly move up and to the left. —Dean Regas, The Enquirer, 7 Apr. 2024

There are a total of four stone fireplaces scattered throughout the property, including outside and in the private study room on the bottom floor. —Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 4 Apr. 2024

The bottom 5 percent of schools will get intensive resources and help from the state to help improve their ranking and performance, according to the proposal. —Karina Elwood, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English botme, botom, bothom, going back to Old English botm, *boðm, going back to Germanic *butma- (whence, with varying dental consonants, Old Saxon bođom "ground, bottom," Old High German bodam, Old Norse botn), going back to Indo-European *b^hud^h-mḗn, *b^hud^h-mn-ós, whence also Greek pythmḗn "bottom, ground, base," Sanskrit budhná- and (with metathesis of stop and nasal) Latin fundus "bottom, base," Middle Irish bonn "sole of the foot"

Verb

derivative of bottom entry 1

Adjective

from attributive use of bottom entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1544, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Adjective

1561, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing bottom

• at bottom
• at the bottom of one's/the class
• at the bottom of the pile
• at the bottom/top of the heap
• be/lie at the bottom of
• bottom drawer
• bottom-feeder
• bottom-fishing
• bottom gear
• bottom line
• bottom out
• bottom round
• bottom surgery
• bottom-up
• false bottom
• from the bottom of one's heart
• from top to bottom
• get to the bottom of
• hit bottom
• hit/reach rock bottom
• rock bottom
• scrape bottom
• the bottom drops/falls out
• the bottom of the barrel

Kids Definition

bottom

1 of 2 noun

bot·​tom ˈbät-əm 

1

a

: the undersurface of something

b

: a supporting surface or part : base

c

: buttock sense 2a, rump

2

: the surface on which a body of water lies

3

a

: the part of a ship's hull lying below the water

b

: boat entry 1 sense 1, ship

4

: the lowest part, place, or point

the bottom of the page

5

: the part of a garment worn on the lower part of the body

especially : the trousers of pajamas

—usually used in plural

6

: lowland along a river

the Mississippi River bottoms

7

: the most basic or central part : heart

get to the bottom of the problem

8

: the last half of an inning of baseball

bottomed

-əmd 

adjective

bottom

2 of 2 verb

1

: to provide a foundation for

2

: to rest on, bring to, or reach the bottom