Word.ws English Dictionary

below

Syllables: be·low/bɪˈləʊ/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Northumbria/bɪˈlaː/

below preposition: lower in spatial position than.

below: lower in spatial position than
Image: Mx. Granger, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Preposition

below

  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.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
    • The treasure is buried two meters below the surface.
  2. Lower than in value, price, rank, concentration, etc.
    • one degree below kings1705, J[oseph] Addison, Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC
    • 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...2013 July-August, Philip J. Bushnell, “Solvents, Ethanol, Car Crashes & Tolerance”, in American Scientist
  3. Downstream of.
    • The River Thames is tidal below Teddington Lock.
    Synonyms:
    downstream
  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.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
    • who thinks no fact below his regard1827, Henry Hallam, The Constitutional History of England from the Accession of Henry VII. to the Death of George II. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Murray, […], →OCLC
    Synonyms:
    beneath
  6. (stage directions) Downstage of.
    • Below the sofa is a low, round coffee table.1952, Frederick Knott, Dial "M" for Murder, 1954 Dramatists Play Service acting edition, act 1, scene 1

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.
    1. On or to a lower storey.
      • She lives below, on the ground floor.
    2. 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.
    Synonyms:
    downwards
  3. Below zero.
    • It was forty degrees below.

Proper noun capitalized: Below

Below (plural Belows)

  1. A surname.

below meaning in Hindi, Marathi, Urdu and Punjabi

below in Hindi

in a lower place
नीचे nīce

below in Marathi

in a lower place
खाली khālī

below in Urdu

in a lower place
نیچے nīce

below in Punjabi

in a lower place
ਥੱਲੇ thalle, ਹੇਠ heṭh
More languagesFewer languages
below in Tagalog
mababa, sa ibaba ng
below in Arabic
أَقَل ʔaqal, تَحْتَ taḥta, جَنُوبِيّ janūbiyy
below in Malay
bawah
below in Myanmar
အောက် auk

Examples of below in a sentence

  • The marmalade is on the shelf below the bread.
  • The temperature is below zero.
  • Liverpool are below Manchester City in the Premier League.
  • Such petty behavior is below me.
  • 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.2013 July-August, Philip J. Bushnell, “Solvents, Ethanol, Car Crashes & Tolerance”, in American Scientist:

All 40 example sentences with below

Synonyms of below

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of below

Forms of below

pluralBelows

Origin of below

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

Words formed from below

Phrases with below

20 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with below

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about below

What does below mean?
Below means lower in spatial position than.
What is below in Hindi?
Below in Hindi is नीचे (nīce). See Below meaning in Hindi.
How do you use below in a sentence?
The marmalade is on the shelf below the bread.
What part of speech is below?
Below can be a preposition, an adverb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce below?
Below is pronounced /bɪˈləʊ/ (UK).

Words near below in the dictionary

  1. belovite
  2. belovites
  3. Belovsky
  4. belovèd
  5. belovèds
  6. below
  7. below average
  8. below decks
  9. below ground
  10. below par
  11. below stairs

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: below (page history and authors); Below (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Back ache-below.wav, en-us-below.ogg.

Cite this entry: “below.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/below. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.