bot·tom
(bŏt́əm)
[Middle English botme, from Old English botm.]
noun
- The deepest or lowest part: the bottom of a well; the bottom of the page.
- The part closest to a reference point: was positioned at the bottom of the key for a rebound.
- The underside: scraped the bottom of the car on a rock.
- The supporting part; the base.
- The far end or part: at the bottom of the bed.
- The last place, as on a list.
- The lowest or least favorable position: started at the bottom of the corporate hierarchy.
- The basic underlying quality; the source: Let's get to the bottom of the problem.
- The solid surface under a body of water.
- Low-lying alluvial land adjacent to a river. Often used in the plural. Also called bottomland
- Nautical The part of a ship's hull below the water line.
- A ship; a boat: “English merchants did much of their overseas trade in foreign bottoms” (G.M. Trevelyan)
- The trousers or short pants of pajamas. Often used in the plural.
- Informal The buttocks.
- The seat of a chair.
- Baseball The second or last half of an inning.
- Staying power; stamina. Used of a horse.
verb: -tomed, -tom·ing, -toms.
transitive verb
- To provide with an underside.
- To provide with a foundation.
- To get to the bottom of; fathom.
intransitive verb
- To be or become based or grounded.
- To rest on or touch the bottom.
phrasal verbs
- bottom out
- To descend to the lowest point possible, after which only a rise may occur: Sales of personal computers have bottomed out.
idioms
- at bottom
- Basically.
derivatives
- bot́tom·er
- noun