Word.ws English Dictionary

on the down-low

on the down-low prepositional phrase: in secret or nearly so, on a need-to-know basis.

Prepositional phrase

  1. (US, euphemistic, idiomatic, slang) In secret or nearly so, on a need-to-know basis.
    • I'll tell you, but keep it on the down-low.
  2. (US, euphemistic, idiomatic, slang) Secretly sleeping with someone other than one's partner.
    • And keep it on the down low
      Nobody has to know1995 December 11, “Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)”performed by R. Kelly
  3. (African-American Vernacular) Of a man, publicly identifying as heterosexual but secretly having sex with men.

on the down-low meaning in Bengali

on the down-low in Bengali

গোপনে, প্রায় গোপনে, একজন পুরুষের ক্ষেত্রে

Forms of on the down-low

alternative formon the down low
alternative formon the DL
alternative formon the low
alternative formon the downlow

Questions about on the down-low

What does on the down-low mean?
On the down-low means in secret or nearly so, on a need-to-know basis.
What is on the down-low in Bengali?
On the down-low in Bengali is গোপনে, প্রায় গোপনে, একজন পুরুষের ক্ষেত্রে. See On the down-low meaning in Bengali.
What part of speech is on the down-low?
On the down-low is a prepositional phrase.

Words near on the down-low in the dictionary

  1. on the DL
  2. on the docket
  3. on the door
  4. on the dot
  5. on the double
  6. on the down-low
  7. on the downlow
  8. on the drum
  9. on the dry
  10. on the earie
  11. on the edge

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: on the down-low (page history and authors); on the down-low (Bengali Wiktionary) (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: En-au-on the down-low.ogg.

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