below
prepositionadverbcommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//bɪˈləʊ//
- United States//bɪˈloʊ//
- India//bɪˈloː(w)//
- //bɪˈlaː//
Lower in spatial position than.
preposition
- 1
Lower in spatial position than.
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.
one degree below kings
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.
They beheld, with a just loathing and disdain, […] how below all history the persons and their actions were.
who thinks no fact below his regard
Such petty behavior is below me.
- 6
Downstage of.
Below the sofa is a low, round coffee table.
Etymology
From Middle English bilooghe, equivalent to be- + low. Compare also earlier Middle English alogh, alow, aloȝ, alowe (“below”), benethen (“beneath”), Dutch omlaag (“downwards”).
adverb
- 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.
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,[…].
- 2
In or to a lower place. On or to a lower storey.
She lives below, on the ground floor.
- 3
In or to a lower place. 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
- 4
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.
- 5
Below zero.
It was forty degrees below.