I. ˈbäd.əm, -ätəm noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English botme, from Old English botm; akin to Old High German bodam bottom, Old Norse botn, Latin fundus, Greek pythmēn, Sanskrit budhna
1.
a. : the under surface as opposed to the top surface : the side lying underneath : underside
the bottom of a box
the bottom of a plank
specifically : the underside on which a thing normally stands or rests
the bottom of a vase
b. : a surface facing upwards (as the seat of a chair or the floor of a room) and designed to support something resting on it or to serve as a functional termination of the thing of which it forms a part
c. : the posterior end of the trunk : buttocks, rump
2. : the continuous and gently curved or somewhat flat surface (as of earth, sand, or rock) on which a body of water (as a river, lake, or sea) lies : bed
the ship sank to the bottom of the ocean
3. obsolete : a very deep place : abyss
4.
a. : the hull of a boat ; especially : the part of the hull that lies below the water
b. : boat , ship — used chiefly of cargo ships
cargo … carried by foreign bottoms — Virginia A. Oakes
5.
a.
(1) : the lower or lowest part as opposed to the upper or topmost part
at the bottom of the mountain
(2) : the lower or lowest section, point, region, or level
the bottom of the page
the bottom of the graph
traveling to the bottom of the world
starting out on his career from the bottom
(3) : the worst possible level (as of misery, destitution, or degradation)
falling to the bottom of disillusionment
b. : the farthest removed or inmost point of a recess
sailing to the bottom of the bay
c. : a position marked by the least dignity or honor
demoted to the bottom of the ranks
: the lowest or last place in point of precedence
marching at the bottom of a procession
d.
(1) : the undermost part of the sole of a shoe ; especially : the part of the sole extending from the breast of the heel to the toe
(2) : the lower part of a garment or a garment worn on the lower part of the body ; especially : the trousers of pajamas — usually used in plural
e. : the card at the bottom of a deck of cards
he cheated by dealing bottoms
f. : the last half of an inning of baseball
6. : low-lying land ; especially : low-lying grassland and fields along a watercourse — usually used in plural
the Mississippi river bottoms
7. obsolete : clew 1
8.
a. : something used underneath or as if underneath another thing to support and strengthen it or to give it an advantageous point from which to develop : foundation , basis
the bottom of a hypothesis
b. : a solid underlying structure (as of a work of literature) marked by unity and a convincing acceptance and interpretation of reality : substance
their writing lost all grip and bottom — Van Wyck Brooks
9. : intrinsic nature : essence : basic character : heart , center , source
the bottom of the trouble lay deeper — G.M.Trevelyan
he tackles problems, tries to get to the bottom of them — H.A.Overstreet
10.
a. : a heavy residuum of impure metal (as in copper smelting)
b. : a residue left in a still (as in refining petroleum)
11. : vigorous physical qualities combined with stamina : capacity to endure strain : spirit — used especially of horses and dogs
a breed of dogs outstanding for bottom
12. : the main plowing mechanism of a plow comprising the moldboard, share, frame, and landside
13. Australia : a gutter in mining
14. : a color applied as a foundation before the dyeing of textile fibers
•
- at bottom
- at the bottom of
- at the bottom of one's heart
- from the bottom of one's heart
- from the bottom up
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
1. : to furnish (as a chair or shoe) with a bottom
2. obsolete : to wind up (as a ball of thread)
3. : to provide a foundation for : base , found , establish — usually used with on or upon
men who wanted to bottom the dreams of the Romantics on a solid basis — Bonamy Dobrée
4. : to bring to the bottom
they bottomed the submarine on the ocean floor
5. : to get to the bottom of : figure out : plumb , fathom
a mystery they hadn't bottomed
6. : to treat with a foundation hue or a mordant preparatory to dyeing
cloth may be bottomed with a pale shade of indigo
7.
a. : to underrun (as a gold deposit that is to be worked by the hydraulic method) with a level for drainage
b. : finish
bottom a borehole or shaft
c. : exhaust
bottomed the ore in the mine
intransitive verb
1. : to rest as an ultimate support : become based or grounded — usually used with on or upon
find on what foundation any proposition bottoms — John Locke
2. : to reach the bottom : strike against the bottom
bottoming on the bed of the sea
specifically : to touch bottom so as to impede free action (as when the point of a gear tooth strikes the bottom of a space between two other teeth, a piston strikes the end of a cylinder, or a die forces material solidly into a matrix in coining)
3. : to develop a turf — used of a grass
4. botany : to develop a bulb or similar enlargement
Synonyms: see base
III. adjective
1.
a. : of, relating to, or situated at the bottom
bottom rock
b. : lower or lowest
the bottom part of the building
bottom prices
c. : frequenting the bottom
bottom fish
2. : fundamental , basic
the bottom reason
bottom ideas
IV. noun
: the bass or baritone instruments of a band
V. intransitive verb
1. of a security market : to decline to a point where demand begins to exceed supply and a rise in prices is imminent — usually used with out
2. : to reach a point where a decline is halted or reversed — usually used with out
VI. adjective
: having a quantum characteristic that accounts for the existence and lifetime of upsilon particles and that has a value of zero for most known particles
bottom quark