bottom

Universal Words noun, adjective, verb noun lowest part 1 [C,usually sing.] ~ (of sth) the lowest part of sth: Footnotes are given at the bottom of each page. * The wind blew through gaps at the top and bottom of the door. * I waited for them at the bottom of the hill. * The book I want is right at the bottom (= of the pile). * farmers who lived in the valley bottoms 2 [C,usually sing.] ~ (of sth) the part of sth that faces downwards and is not usually seen: The manufacturer's name is on the bottom of the plate. of container 3 [C,usually sing.] ~ (of sth) the lowest surface on the inside of a container: I found some French coins at the bottom of my bag. * Allow the tea leaves to settle to the bottom of the cup. of river / pool 4 [sing.] the ground below the water in a lake, river, swimming pool, etc: He dived in and hit his head on the bottom. * I feel safe as long as I can touch the bottom. end of sth 5 the ~ (of sth) [sing.] (especially BrE) the part of sth that is furthest from you, your house, etc: I went to the school at the bottom of our street. * There was a stream at the bottom of the garden. lowest position 6 ~ (of sth) [sing.] the lowest position in a class, on a list, etc.; a person, team, etc. that is in this position: a battle between the teams at the bottom of the league * You have to be prepared to start at the bottom and work your way up. * I was always bottom of the class in math. part of body 7 [C] (especially BrE) the part of the body that you sit on: I'll smack your bottom if you do that again! SYNBACKSIDE, BEHIND clothing 8 [C,usually pl.] the lower part of a set of clothes that consists of two pieces: a bikini bottom * a pair of pyjama / tracksuit bottoms of ship 9 [C] the lower part of a ship that is below the surface of the water SYNHULL -bottomed 10 (in adjectives) having the type of bottom mentioned: a flat-bottomed boat seealsoROCK-BOTTOM IDIOMS at bottom used to say what sb/sth is really like: Their offer to help was at bottom self-centred. be / lie at the bottom of sth to be the original cause of sth, especially sth unpleasant: We need to find out what lies at the bottom of these fears. the bottom drops / falls out (of sth) people stop buying or using the products of a particular industry: The bottom has fallen out of the travel market. bottoms up! (spoken) used to express good wishes when drinking alcohol, or to tell sb to finish their drink get to the bottom of sth to find out the real cause of sth, especially sth unpleasant: I won't rest until I've got to the bottom of this! moreatHEAPn., HEART, PILEn., SCRAPEv., TOPn., TOUCHv. adjective [onlybeforenoun] in the lowest, last or furthest place or position: the bottom line (on a page) * your bottom lip * the bottom step (of a flight of stairs) * on the bottom shelf * Put your clothes in the bottom drawer. * Their house is at the bottom end of Bury Road (= the end furthest from where you enter the road). * Sign in the bottom right-hand corner of the page. * the bottom end of the price range * to go up a hill in bottom gear IDIOMS see BETv. verb PHRASALVERBS bottom out (of prices, a bad situation, etc.) to stop getting worse: The recession is finally beginning to show signs of bottoming out.