What does "bottom" mean?

1. (lowest part) the lowest part or surface of something. 2. (body part) the part of your body that you sit on. 3. (under water) the ground at the lowest part of a lake, river, or sea. 4. (lowest position) the last or lowest position in a group or list. 5. (low land) low, flat land near a river. 6. (sexual role) a person who takes the receiving role during sex. 7. (lowest) being at the lowest part or the end of something. 8. (to reach the lowest point) to reach the lowest possible level before starting to rise again.

bottom — meaning, definition & examples

Word

01lowest part

A2 · Elementary Countable noun

n. the lowest part or surface of something.

n. the lowest part, point, or surface of an object or structure.

“The keys were hiding at the very bottom of her heavy bag.”

“The researchers discovered a small crack at the bottom of the container, which explained why the liquid had been leaking slowly for days.”

Synonyms

base underside

Antonyms

top peak

02body part

A2 · Elementary Countable noun British English

n. the part of your body that you sit on.

n. the buttocks; used as a polite or neutral term in British English.

“The toddler fell down on his bottom but didn't cry.”

“After sitting on the hard wooden bench for three hours, my bottom was completely numb.”

Synonyms

buttocks rear

03under water

B1 · Intermediate Countable noun

n. the ground at the lowest part of a lake, river, or sea.

n. the bed of a body of water.

“The old ship has been sitting at the bottom of the ocean for centuries.”

“Divers explored the lake bottom, searching for any artifacts that might have survived the flood.”

Synonyms

bed floor

Antonyms

surface

04lowest position

B1 · Intermediate Countable noun

n. the last or lowest position in a group or list.

n. the lowest rank or position in a hierarchy or sequence.

“His name was at the bottom of the list, so he had to wait a long time.”

“The team started the season at the bottom of the league but managed to win their last five games.”

Synonyms

foot end

Antonyms

top head

05low land

C1 · Advanced Countable noun Agriculture American English

n. low, flat land near a river.

n. low-lying alluvial land, typically near a river or in a valley.

“The farmers planted corn in the rich soil of the river bottoms.”

“The heavy rains caused the river to overflow, completely submerging the fertile bottoms and destroying the season's crops.”

Synonyms

floodplain valley

Antonyms

ridge peak

06sexual role

C1 · Advanced Countable noun Slang

n. a person who takes the receiving role during sex.

n. a person who takes the receptive role in sexual intercourse.

“He identified as a bottom in his dating profile.”

“The discussion focused on how traditional labels like top and bottom are evolving within modern queer communities.”

Synonyms

receptive partner

Antonyms

top

07lowest

A2 · Elementary

adj. being at the lowest part or the end of something.

adj. situated at the lowest part, point, or rank.

“Please sign your name on the bottom line of the contract.”

“The bottom drawer of the desk was jammed, preventing us from accessing the old files stored inside.”

Synonyms

lowest base

Antonyms

top upper

08to reach the lowest point

B2 · Upper Intermediate

v. to reach the lowest possible level before starting to rise again.

v. to reach the lowest point or level; often used with 'out'.

“The stock prices finally bottomed out after weeks of falling.”

“Economists believe the recession has bottomed out and that we will see growth in the next quarter.”

Synonyms

plummet drop

Antonyms

peak climb

PIE word *bʰudʰmḗn From Middle English botme, botom, from Old English botm, bodan (“bottom, foundation; ground, abyss”), from Proto-West Germanic butm, from Proto-Germanic butmaz, budmaz (“bottom; ground”), from Proto-Indo-European bʰudʰmḗn (“bottom”). Cognates Cognate with Yola bothom, bottom (“bottom”), Saterland Frisian Boudem (“floor; ground”), West Frisian boaiem (“floor; ground”), Dutch bodem, boom, boôm (“bottom; ground, soil”), German Boden (“floor; ground; soil”), Limburgish baom (“bottom; ground, soil”), Luxembourgish Buedem (“bottom; earth, soil”), Vilamovian bödum (“bottom; ground”), Danish bund (“bottom”), Elfdalian buottn (“bottom”), Faroese botnur (“bottom”), Icelandic and Norwegian Nynorsk botn (“bottom”), Norwegian Bokmål botn, bunn (“bottom”), Swedish botten (“bottom”); also Irish and Scottish Gaelic bonn (“base, bottom; sole (of foot)”), Latin fundus (“bottom”) (whence fund, via French), Ancient Greek πυθμήν (puthmḗn, “bottom of a cup or jar; the bottom of the sea; butt of a tree”), Albanian buzë (“rocky chasm”), Armenian անդունդ (andund), անդունդք (andundkʻ, “abyss, chasm”), Northern Kurdish bin (“bottom”), Persian بن (bon, “bottom”), Sanskrit बुध्न (budhna, “bottom”). The sense “posterior of a person” is first attested in 1794; the verb “to reach the bottom of” is first attested in 1808. bottom dollar (“the last dollar one has”) is from 1882.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.