noun

bottom

BO-tuhm

noun

The lowest part of something.

"They found the keys at the bottom of her bag."

"The ship sank to the bottom of the ocean."

A person's buttocks.

"The toddler fell right on her bottom."

verb

To reach the lowest point possible, especially in "bottom out."

"Prices finally bottomed out after months of decline."

adj

Lowest in position, rank, or order.

"He finished at the bottom of the class."

How to Use Bottom

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishThe lowest part or point of something — literally (the bottom of a box) or figuratively (bottom of a list) — or, informally, a person's buttocks.

Common pairings

bottom of the list bottom out from the bottom up hit rock bottom

Word Forms

bottomed past tense, Bottoms plural, bottoms singular

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They found the keys at the _____ of her bag.

Etymology

From Old English botm, going back to a very old Indo-European root meaning "bottom" or "foundation," shared with similar words across many European languages.