below definition

English

Etymology

From Middle English bilooghe, equivalent to be- +‎ low. Compare also earlier Middle English alogh, alow, aloȝ, alowe (“below”) and benethen (“beneath”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /bɪˈləʊ/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /bɪˈloʊ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: be‧low
• Rhymes: -əʊ

Preposition

below

1. Lower in spatial position than.
   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     One morning I had been driven to the precarious refuge afforded by the steps of the inn, after rejecting offers from the Celebrity to join him in a variety of amusements. But even here I was not free from interruption, for he was seated on a horse-block below me, playing with a fox terrier.

   The treasure is buried two meters below the surface.

   The marmalade is on the shelf below the bread.

2. Lower than in value, price, rank, concentration, etc.
   • 1705, J[oseph] Addison, Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

     one degree below kings

   • 2013 July-August, Philip J. Bushnell, “Solvents, Ethanol, Car Crashes & Tolerance”, in American Scientist:

     Surprisingly, this analysis revealed that acute exposure to solvent vapors at concentrations below those associated with long-term effects appears to increase the risk of a fatal automobile accident. Furthermore, this increase in risk is comparable to the risk of death from leukemia after long-term exposure to benzene, another solvent, which has the well-known property of causing this type of cancer.

   The temperature is below zero.

   Liverpool are below Manchester City in the Premier League.

3. Downstream of.

   The River Thames is tidal below Teddington Lock.

4. South of.

   Sudan is below Egypt.

5. Unsuitable to the rank or dignity of; beneath.
   • 1670, John Milton, “(please specify the page)”, in The History of Britain, that Part Especially now Call’d England. […], London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for James Allestry, […] , →OCLC:

     They beheld, with a just loathing and disdain, […] how below all history the persons and their actions were.

   • 1827, Henry Hallam, The Constitutional History of England from the Accession of Henry VII. to the Death of George II. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Murray, […], →OCLC:

     who thinks no fact below his regard

   Such petty behavior is below me.

6. (stage directions) Downstage of.
   • 1952, Frederick Knott, Dial "M" for Murder, 1954 Dramatists Play Service acting edition, act 1, scene 1:

     Below the sofa is a low, round coffee table.

Synonyms

• (lower in spatial position than): beneath, under, underneath
• (lower in value than): under
• (downstream of): downstream
• (unsuitable to the rank or dignity of): beneath

Antonyms

• (lower in spatial position than): above, over
• (lower in value than): over
• (downstream of): upstream

Derived terms

• below the belt

Translations

Adverb

below (not comparable)

1. In or to a lower place.

   The town is situated on a hillside, with a river running below.

   He was pulled below by a sea monster.

   • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:

     But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection.
     […] The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window at the old mare feeding in the meadow below by the brook, and a 'bead' could be drawn upon Molly, the dairymaid, kissing the fogger behind the hedge, […].

   1. On or to a lower storey.

      She lives below, on the ground floor.

   2. (nautical) On or to a lower deck, especially as relative to the main deck.

      The captain went below to inspect the engine.

      the landlubbers lying down below

2. Later in the same text.

   This point is explained below.

   By their execution hereof, the Parties incur a legal obligation to pass consideration under this Loan Contract as is set forth below.

3. (of a temperature) Below zero.

   It was forty degrees below.

Synonyms

• (in a lower place): beneath, under, underneath
• (on a lower storey): downstairs
• (farther down): downwards

Antonyms

• (in a lower place): aloft, overhead, up
• (on a lower storey): upstairs
• (farther down): upwards

Derived terms

Translations

References

• Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "The vertical axis", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition, Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8

Anagrams

• Blowe, Lebow, blowe, bowel, bowle, elbow