I. bot ‧ tom 1 S1 W3 /ˈbɒtəm $ ˈbɑː-/ BrE AmE noun
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: botm ]
1 . LOWEST PART the bottom the lowest part of something OPP the top
the bottom of
Can you hold the bottom of the ladder for me?
at the bottom (of something)
Grandma was standing at the bottom of the stairs.
at the bottom of the page
Go downstairs and wait for me at the bottom.
the bottom of the page/screen
There should be a menu bar at the bottom of your screen.
2 . LOWEST SIDE [countable usually singular] the flat surface on the lowest side of an object
the bottom of something
What’s that on the bottom of your shoe?
3 . LOWEST INNER PART [countable usually singular] the lowest inner surface of something such as a container
at/in the bottom of something
I found the keys – they were at the bottom of my handbag.
The drugs had been hidden in a suitcase with a false bottom.
4 . LOWEST SOCIAL POSITION/RANK the bottom the lowest position in an organization or company OPP the top
the bottom of
The Giants are at the bottom of the league.
the bottom of the ladder/pile/heap (=the lowest position in society, an organization etc)
Immigrants were at the bottom of the pile.
Higgins had started at the bottom (=in a low position in a company) and worked his way up to become managing director.
second/third etc from bottom
United currently lie second from bottom of the Premier League.
5 . OCEAN/RIVER the bottom the ground under a sea, river etc, or the flat land in a valley
the bottom of
The bottom of the pool is very slippery.
at/on the bottom (of something)
A body was found at the bottom of the canal.
the sea/river bottom
fish living on the sea bottom
6 . BODY [countable] the part of your body that you sit on SYN backside :
I just sat on my bottom and slid down.
7 . CLOTHES [countable usually plural] the part of a set of clothes that you wear on the lower part of your body:
pyjama bottoms
a blue bikini bottom
8 . FURTHEST PART the bottom of a road/garden etc especially British English the part of a road, area of land etc that is furthest from where you are:
There’s a shop at the bottom of the street.
9 . get to the bottom of something to find out the cause of a problem or situation:
I never got to the bottom of this!
10 . be/lie at the bottom of something to be the basic cause of a problem or situation:
Lack of money is at the bottom of many family problems.
11 . be at/hit/reach rock bottom
a) to be in a very bad situation that could not be any worse:
I was at rock bottom, and knew I had to try and stop drinking.
b) to be at a very low level:
We bought the house when prices were at rock bottom.
12 . from the bottom of your heart in a very sincere way:
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
13 . the bottom drops/falls out of the market when people stop buying a particular product, so that the people who sell it can no longer make any money
14 . bottoms up! spoken used to tell someone to enjoy or finish their alcoholic drink
15 . big-bottomed/round-bottomed etc having a bottom or base that is big, round etc
16 . at bottom formal the way a person or situation really is, although they may seem different:
She’s a good kind person at bottom.
⇨ top,
⇨ you can bet your bottom dollar at ↑ bet 1 (4), ⇨ knock the bottom out of at ↑ knock 1 (25), ⇨ from top to bottom at ↑ top 1 (21), ⇨ the bottom of the list at ↑ list 1 (2), ⇨ scrape the bottom of the barrel at ↑ scrape 1 (5)
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ the bottom the lowest part of something:
The house is at the bottom of that hill.
|
She scrolled down to the bottom of the screen.
▪ the underneath/the underside the bottom surface on the outside of something:
You will find the serial number on the underneath of the vacuum cleaner.
▪ base the lowest part or the wide bottom part on which something stands:
The lamp has a square base.
|
He had broken a bone at the base of his spine.
▪ the foot literary the bottom of a tree, a hill, or some stairs:
There was a small village at the foot of the mountain.
▪ bed the ground at the bottom of a river, a lake, or the sea:
the sea bed
|
They found some interesting stones on the river bed.
▪ the foundations the layer of cement and stones that forms the bottom of a building:
The builders have begun laying the foundations for the house.
II. bottom 2 S1 W3 BrE AmE adjective
1 . [only before noun] in the lowest place or position OPP top :
It’s on the bottom shelf.
The towels are in the bottom drawer.
You’ve got some butter on your bottom lip.
the bottom right-hand corner of the page
2 . [not before noun] the least important, successful etc OPP top :
I was bottom of the class (=the least successful student) in Spanish.
Britain came bottom on efforts to tackle pollution and global warming.
3 . [only before noun] especially British English in the place furthest away from where you are:
the bottom field
4 . bottom gear the lowest ↑ gear of a vehicle
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ nouns
▪ the bottom drawer/shelf
My passport’s in the bottom drawer of my desk.
▪ the bottom step
Jenna sat on the bottom step.
▪ the bottom corner
Look at the bottom left-hand corner of your screen.
▪ the bottom row
That’s me in the middle of the bottom row of the photograph.
▪ the bottom half
There’s were only two windows in the bottom half of the building.
▪ the bottom rung (=of a ladder)
I put my foot on the bottom rung and started to climb.
▪ sb’s bottom lip
Her bottom lip trembled and she started to cry.
III. bottom 3 BrE AmE verb
bottom out phrasal verb
if a situation, price etc bottoms out, it stops getting worse or lower, usually before improving again ⇨ level off/out :
There are signs that the recession has bottomed out.