(~er, ~est, ~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
Something that is ~ measures only a short distance from the bottom to the top, or from the ground to the top.
...the ~ garden wall that separated the front garden from next door...
She put it down on the ~ table...
The Leisure Center is a long and ~ modern building.
ADJ
2.
If something is ~, it is close to the ground, to sea level, or to the bottom of something.
He bumped his head on the ~ beams...
It was late afternoon and the sun was ~ in the sky...
They saw a government war plane make a series of ~-level bombing raids.
ADJ
3.
When a river is ~, it contains less water than usual.
...pumps that guarantee a constant depth of water even when the supplying river is ~.
? high
ADJ: usu v-link ADJ
4.
You can use ~ to indicate that something is small in amount or that it is at the bottom of a particular scale. You can use phrases such as in the ~ 80s to indicate that a number or level is less than 85 but not as little as 80.
British casualties remained remarkably ~...
They are still having to live on very ~ incomes...
The temperature’s in the ~ 40s.
? high
ADJ
5.
Low is used to describe people who are not considered to be very important because they are near the bottom of a particular scale or system.
She refused to promote Colin above the ~ rank of ‘legal adviser’.
? high
ADJ: usu ADJ n
6.
If something reaches a ~ of a particular amount or degree, that is the smallest it has ever been.
Eventually my weight stabilised at seven and a half stone after dropping to a ~ of five and a half stone...
The dollar fell to a new ~.
? high
N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of amount
7.
If you drive or ride a bicycle in a ~ gear, you use a gear, usually first or second, which gives you the most control over your car or bicycle when travelling s~ly.
She selected a ~ gear and started down the track carefully.
? high
ADJ
8.
If the quality or standard of something is ~, it is very poor.
A school would not accept ~-quality work from any student...
...~-grade coal.
= poor
? high
ADJ
9.
If a food or other substance is ~ in a particular ingredient, it contains only a small amount of that ingredient.
They look for foods that are ~ in calories.
? high
ADJ: v-link ADJ in n
•
Low is also a combining form.
...~-sodium tomato sauce...
Low-odour paints help make decorating so much easier.
COMB in ADJ: usu ADJ n
10.
If you describe someone such as a student or a worker as a ~ achiever, you mean that they are not very good at their work, and do not achieve or produce as much as others.
Low achievers in schools will receive priority.
? high
ADJ: ADJ n
11.
If you have a ~ opinion of someone or something, you disapprove of them or dislike them.
I have an extremely ~ opinion of the British tabloid newspapers.
? high
ADJ
12.
You can use ~ to describe negative feelings and attitudes.
We are all very tired and morale is ~...
People had very ~ expectations.
ADJ
13.
If a sound or noise is ~, it is deep.
Then suddenly she gave a ~, choking moan and began to tremble violently...
My voice has got so ~ now I was mistaken for a man the other day on the phone.
= deep
? high
ADJ
14.
If someone’s voice is ~, it is quiet or soft.
Her voice was so ~ he had to strain to catch it.
ADJ
15.
A light that is ~ is not bright or strong.
Their eyesight is poor in ~ light.
= dim
ADJ
16.
If a radio, oven, or light is on ~, it has been adjusted so that only a small amount of sound, heat, or light is produced.
She turned her little kitchen radio on ~...
Buy a dimmer switch and keep the light on ~, or switch it off altogether...
Cook the sauce over a ~ heat until it boils and thickens.
ADJ
17.
If you are ~ on something or if a supply of it is ~, there is not much of it left.
We’re a bit ~ on bed linen...
World stocks of wheat were getting very ~.
ADJ: v-link ADJ, usu ADJ on n
18.
If you are ~, you are depressed. (INFORMAL)
‘I didn’t ask for this job, you know,’ he tells friends when he is ~.
= down
ADJ
19.
see also ~er
20.
If you are lying ~, you are hiding or not drawing attention to yourself. (INFORMAL)
Far from lying ~, Kuti became more outspoken than ever.
PHRASE: V inflects
21.
to look high and ~: see high
~ profile: see profile
to be running ~: see run