lower

Word family  noun low adjective low lower lowly verb lower adverb low

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++low·er1 /ˈləʊə $ ˈloʊər/ ●●● W3 adjective  1  [only before noun]UNDER/BELOW below something else, especially below something of the same type 〔尤指位于同类物品中另一个的〕下面的，下方的 OPP upper Nina chewed her lower lip anxiously. 尼娜焦虑不安地咬着下唇。 Ruth went down to the lower deck (=lower level on a ship). 露丝到下层甲板去了。your lower limbs (=your legs) 下肢2  [only before noun]BOTTOM at or near the bottom of something 在底部的；接近底部的 OPP upper the lower slopes of the mountain 山麓的斜坡 She suffers with pain in her lower back. 她腰痛。3  LESSsmaller in number or amount 〔数字或数量〕较小的 OPP higher Temperatures will be lower over the weekend. 周末气温会下降。4  [only before noun]UNIMPORTANT less important than something else of the same type 〔同类中〕次重要的，较低级的 OPP higher the lower levels of management 管理层中的较低级别

Examples from the Corpus

lower• The program is broadcast in the morning, a time when advertising rates are much lower.• Everyone knows that you get a lower air fare if you stay over a Saturday night.• A higher interest rate will allow a smaller lump sum and lower annual deposits.• The magic, upper and lower case, is gone.• We drove onto the lower deck of the ferry.• the lower deck of the stadium• There's no doubt that lower energy prices are having some short-term impact on the stock market.• Her irises rest above the horizon of her lower eyelids; the stare fixes me.• They rejected our estimate and suggested a lower figure.• I got lower grades than the other students in my class.• The second was added to the first, over the cheek and lower jaw, to give a further stage of disintegration.• The dentist filled two teeth in my lower jaw.• muscles of the lower leg• The alternative - that these lower levels are partly responsible for the development of oesophagitis - is also possible.• This expression is an inequality, giving upper and lower limits on relationships between the measured variables.• The baby's lower lip quivered and then she began crying.• your lower lip• The 15 percent. was largely accounted for in the lower ranks.• The divorce rate in Japan is much lower than in the U.S.• Foreign workers have fewer rights and get lower wages.lower2 ●●○ S3 W3 verb  1  reduce 减少 [intransitive, transitive]REDUCE to reduce something in amount, degree, strength etc, or to become less 减少，降低 Do you think we should lower the price? 你觉得我们应该降价吗？ After 20 minutes lower the temperature to 325°. 20分钟后，把温度降到325度。 drugs to lower blood pressure 降血压药 Helen lowered her voice (=made it quieter) as they approached. 他们走近时，海伦压低了嗓音。 His voice lowered (=became quieter). 他声音轻了下来。► see thesaurus at reduce RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say that someone turns down the temperature or volume rather than lowers it: 在日常英语中，表示将温度或音量调低时，人们一般用turn down，而不用lowerCan you turn the heating down? 你把暖气开小点好吗？2  move down 降下 [transitive]DOWN to move something down from higher up 把〔某物〕移低，降下 OPP raise Very gently, he lowered the dog onto the rug by the fire. 他轻手轻脚地把狗放下，让它待在炉火边的小地毯上。 The flags were lowered to half-mast. 下了半旗。 Greg watched as the coffin was lowered. 格雷格看着灵柩放下。lower yourself He lowered himself carefully down from the top of the wall. 他小心翼翼地从墙头上下来。3  lower your eyes/head DOWNto look down 向下看 OPP raise Christina blushed and lowered her eyes. 克里斯蒂娜脸一红，垂下了眼睛。4  lower yourself [usually in negatives]BAD BEHAVIOUR OR ACTIONS to behave in a way that makes people respect you less 自降身份 I wouldn’t lower myself to speak to her after what she’s done. 她做了那样的事以后，我不会自降身份和她说话。5  lower the tone (of something) RUDE/IMPOLITEto make something not as nice as it was 败坏（某事物的）格调 They thought an influx of students would lower the tone of the neighborhood. 他们认为大量学生住进来会破坏这街区的格调。 Trust you to lower the tone of the conversation (=include rude jokes etc in what you say)! 你肯定会降低谈话的格调！ —lowered adjective He leaned forward and spoke in a lowered voice. 他俯过身去，压低声音说话。→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

lower• The old man just lowered at us as we walked by.• Larsen then passed the window pane down to Grant, and lowered himself through in turn.• The old man lowered himself wearily into his chair.• At any moment he might trample into the road, lower his head, run at some one.• Houses have lowered in value recently.• The Bundesbank is under pressure to lower interest rates.• Lowering its head, the bull charged at him.• The South Pasadena specialty food chain recently started lowering its prices for gourmet roasted whole beans.• We're lowering prices on all of our trucks.• This is effective not because it lowers serum potassium concentration but because it directly antagonizes the membrane depolarizing effect of hyperkalemia.• The coffin was lowered slowly into the ground.• We need to lower the mirror in the bathroom.• She lowered the sleeves, down, down, until they reached her wrists.• We had our kitchen cabinets lowered to be more accessible.• Later a microphone was lowered to him.lowered ... voice• But the unfamiliar, the militant, will mistake his lowered voice and nervousness for weakness.• She lowered her voice, leaning closer.• They lowered their voices right down to the floor.lower yourself• Corrigan took them and lowered himself.• He slid into schooling like an athlete lowering himself into a whirlpool, feeling the heat deep in his tissue.• I lower myself into the chair, keeping as far away as possible.• Hindered by scolding women and jeering men, the soldiers lowered themselves into the cramped crawl spaces.• The hood framed her expressive face, emphasising the grimace of determination before she lowered herself into the starting blocks.• I gave Becky to them and lowered myself into the water.• Police were called to the shop in Southampton after a passer-by spotted Urben lowering himself through the roof into the showroom.• She lowered herself to the beam, one leg down, the other forward.• I'd like to tell these creeps off, but I don't want to lower myself to their level.low·er3 (also lour British English) /ˈlaʊə $ -ər/ verb [intransitive] literary  1  DARKwhen the sky or the weather lowers, it becomes dark because there is going to be a storm 〔暴风雨前的天〕变昏暗；〔天气〕变恶劣 SYN darken lowering clouds 阴沉沉的云2  THREATENto look threatening or annoyed 露色；皱眉 SYN frown The other driver lowered at us as we passed him. 另一个司机在我们经过的时候对我们拉下了脸。→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

lower• Many brokerage house shares were also lower.• They pursue reliability just because they know it leads to lower costs and increased market share.• Larsen then passed the window pane down to Grant, and lowered himself through in turn.• At any moment he might trample into the road, lower his head, run at some one.• The South Pasadena specialty food chain recently started lowering its prices for gourmet roasted whole beans.• This is effective not because it lowers serum potassium concentration but because it directly antagonizes the membrane depolarizing effect of hyperkalemia.• She lowered the sleeves, down, down, until they reached her wrists.• Later a microphone was lowered to him.From Longman Business Dictionarylowerlow‧er /ˈləʊəˈloʊər/ verb [transitive] to reduce something in amount, level etcProduction has soared, allowing him to lower his prices.→ See Verb table

low·er1 adjectivelower2 verb →REGISTER1low·er3 verbChineseSyllable  

below else, especially something of something Corpus below same the Business

lower

I

low‧er¹ W3 /ˈləʊə $ ˈloʊər/ adjective1. [only before noun] below something else, especially below something of the same type
   OPP  upper:
    Nina chewed her lower lip anxiously.
    Ruth went down to the lower deck (=lower level on a ship).
    your lower limbs (=your legs)
2. [only before noun] at or near the bottom of something
   OPP  upper:
    the lower slopes of the mountain
    She suffers with pain in her lower back.
3. smaller in number or amount
   OPP  higher:
    Temperatures will be lower over the weekend.
4. [only before noun] less important than something else of the same type
   OPP  higher:
    the lower levels of management

II

lower² S3 W3 verb
1.  REDUCE  [intransitive and transitive] to reduce something in amount, degree, strength etc, or to become less:
    Do you think we should lower the price?
    After 20 minutes lower the temperature to 325°.
    drugs to lower blood pressure
    Helen lowered her voice (=made it quieter) as they approached.
    His voice lowered (=became quieter).
  REGISTER
    In everyday English, people usually say that someone turns down the temperature or volume rather than lowers it:
   ▪ Can you turn the heating down?
2.  MOVE DOWN  [transitive] to move something down from higher up
   OPP  raise:
    Very gently, he lowered the dog onto the rug by the fire.
    The flags were lowered to half-mast.
    Greg watched as the coffin was lowered.
    lower yourself
    He lowered himself carefully down from the top of the wall.
3. lower your eyes/head to look down
   OPP  raise:
    Christina blushed and lowered her eyes.
4. lower yourself [usually in negatives] to behave in a way that makes people respect you less:
    I wouldn’t lower myself to speak to her after what she’s done.
5. lower the tone (of something) to make something not as nice as it was:
    They thought an influx of students would lower the tone of the neighborhood.
    Trust you to lower the tone of the conversation (=include rude jokes etc in what you say)!
—lowered adjective:
    He leaned forward and spoke in a lowered voice.
     

THESAURUS

■ to reduce prices, numbers, or amounts
   ▪ reduce to make the price, amount, or size of something less or smaller: The price was reduced by 50%. | We need to reduce the amount of salt in our diet.
   ▪ cut to reduce something, especially by a large amount – used about prices, costs, jobs, or the time needed to do something: Companies are always looking for ways to cut costs. | The journey time will be cut to under 2 hours. | Staff numbers have been cut by half to about 150.
   ▪ lower to reduce the level, limit, or amount of something. Lower sounds rather formal: The voting age was lowered to 18. | The government decided to lower interest rates by 0.5%. | After twenty minutes, lower the temperature to 150 degrees.
   ▪ bring something down to reduce something such as prices or costs, or reduce the level of something. Bring something down is less formal than lower: The government wants to bring down the level of inflation. | The company is trying to bring its costs down.
   ▪ slash informal to reduce an amount or price by a very large amount – used especially in newspapers and advertisements: Public spending has been slashed over the past two years. | Prices slashed for one week only!
   ▪ cut something back to reduce the amount of something – used especially about people deciding to spend less, do less, or use less of something: The education budget has been cut back again. | I need to cut back on my workload.
   ▪ downsize to reduce the number of people employed in order to reduce costs – used about a company or organization: The company is planning to downsize its European operations.
   ▪ scale something down/back to reduce the size or the amount of money that is being spent on something: The research programme has been scaled down. | The navy is being scaled down.
   ▪ relieve/ease to make pain or feelings less unpleasant: The drug is used to relieve pain. | A joke can help to ease the tension.
   ▪ alleviate formal to reduce pain or suffering, or make a problem less serious: You can buy various medicines to alleviate the symptoms of flu. | The new road was supposed to alleviate the congestion problem.

III

low‧er³ (also lour British English) /ˈlaʊə $ -ər/ verb [intransitive] literary
1. when the sky or the weather lowers, it becomes dark because there is going to be a storm
   SYN  darken:
    lowering clouds
2. to look threatening or annoyed
   SYN  frown:
    The other driver lowered at us as we passed him.