Meanings
below1
- Lower in spatial position than.
The marmalade is on the shelf below the bread.
2 more examples
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., →OCLCThe treasure is buried two meters below the surface.
Synonyms: beneath, under, underneath
- Lower than in value, price, rank, concentration, etc.
The temperature is below zero.
3 more examples
one degree below kings
1705, J[oseph] Addison, Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLCSurprisingly, 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 exposure to benzene, another solvent, which has the well-known property of causing this type of cancer.
2013 July-August, Philip J. Bushnell, “Solvents, Ethanol, Car Crashes & Tolerance”, in American ScientistLiverpool are below Manchester City in the Premier League.
- South of.
Sudan is below Egypt.
- Unsuitable to the rank or dignity of; beneath.
Such petty behavior is below me.
2 more examples
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, […] , →OCLCwho thinks no fact below his regard
1827, 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, […], →OCLCSynonyms: beneath
- stage directionsDownstage 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
- not comparableIn or to a lower place.
He was pulled below by a sea monster.
2 more examples
The town is situated on a hillside, with a river running below.
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,[…].
1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC - not comparableLater in the same text.
This point is explained below.
1 more example
By their execution hereof, the Parties incur a legal obligation to pass consideration under this Loan Contract as is set forth below.
Synonyms: downwards
Below2
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositionLower in spatial position than.
prepositionDownstream of.
prepositionUnsuitable to the rank or dignity of; beneath.
adverbOn or to a lower storey.
adverbLater in the same text.
antonym(s) of “downstream of”
in a lower place
antonym(s) of “on a lower storey”
antonym(s) of “farther down”
More synonyms by meaning
adverbon a floor below
adverbfurther down
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Arabic تَحْتَ, جَنُوبِيّ
- تَحْتَ (taḥta)lower in spatial position than
- جَنُوبِيّ (janūbiyy)south of
- أَقَل (ʔaqal)lower in value than
Bulgarian под, южно от
- под (pod)lower in spatial position than
- южно от (južno ot)south of
- под (pod)lower in value than
- отдолу (otdolu)on a lower storey
- надолу (nadolu)farther down
- отдолу (otdolu)in a lower place
Catalan sota, ensota
- sotalower in spatial position than
- ensotafarther down
- sotaof a temperature: below zero
- sotain a lower place
Chinese Mandarin 在...下面, 在...之下
- 在...下面 (zài...xiàmian)lower in spatial position than
- 在...之下 (zài...zhīxià)lower in spatial position than
Czech pod, pod
- podlower in spatial position than
- podunsuitable to the rank or dignity of
- podlower in value than
Danish under
- underlower in spatial position than
Dutch onder, onder
- onderlower in spatial position than
- onderlower in value than
- benedenin a lower place
Esperanto sub, flupost
- sublower in spatial position than
- flupostdownstream of
- sude desouth of
- subunsuitable to the rank or dignity of
- sublower in value than
- malpli ollower in value than
- subefarther down
- malsuprein a lower place
Estonian allpool, allavoolu
- allpoollower in spatial position than
- allavooludownstream of
- lõunassouth of
- allalower in value than
- allkorruselon a lower storey
- allfarther down
- allpoolin a lower place
Finnish alla, alle
- allalower in spatial position than
- allelower in spatial position than
- alapuolellalower in spatial position than
- alapuolellelower in spatial position than
- alavirtaandownstream of
- eteläpuolellasouth of
- alapuolellasouth of
- alapuolellaunsuitable to the rank or dignity of
- allelower in value than
- alalower in value than
- alapuolellalower in value than
- halvempilower in value than
- alakerrassaon a lower storey
- alhaallaon a lower storey
- alemmalla kannellanautical: on a lower deck
- alempanafarther down
- pakkastaof a temperature: below zero
- alapuolellain a lower place
- alempanain a lower place
French au-dessous de, sous
- au-dessous delower in spatial position than
- souslower in spatial position than
- en dessouson a lower storey
- en bason a lower storey
- en basnautical: on a lower deck
- ci-dessousfarther down
- en basin a lower place
German unter, unten
- unterlower in spatial position than
- untenin a lower place
- darunterin a lower place
- unterhalbin a lower place
Greek κάτω, κάτω
- κάτω (káto)lower in spatial position than
- κάτω (káto)lower in value than
- υπό (ypó)lower in value than
- αποκάτω (apokáto)on a lower storey
- μείον (meíon)of a temperature: below zero
- κάτω (káto)in a lower place
Hebrew מתחת, לְהַלָּן
- מתחת (mitakhat)lower in spatial position than
- לְהַלָּן (l'halán)lower in spatial position than
- מתחת (mitakhat)lower in value than
Hindi नीचे
- नीचे (nīce)in a lower place
Hungarian alatt, alatt
- alattlower in spatial position than
- alattlower in value than
- lentin a lower place
Irish faoi, laistíos de
- faoilower in spatial position than
- laistíos delower in spatial position than
- níos lúlower in value than
- laistíosin a lower place
- thíosin a lower place
Italian sotto, sotto zero
- sottolower in spatial position than
- sotto zeroof a temperature: below zero
- sottoin a lower place
Japanese ...の下に
- ...の下に (... no shita ni)lower in spatial position than
Korean ...밑에
- ...밑에 (...mit-e)lower in spatial position than
Latin subtus, infra
- subtuslower in spatial position than
- infralower in spatial position than
- infrāin a lower place
Latvian zem
- zemlower in spatial position than
Malay bawah
- bawahlower in spatial position than
Polish pod, poniżej
- podlower in spatial position than
- poniżejlower in spatial position than
- poniżejlater in the same text
Portuguese abaixo de, a jusante de
- abaixo delower in spatial position than
- a jusante dedownstream of
- a sul desouth of
- abaixo deunsuitable to the rank or dignity of
- abaixo delower in value than
- menos delower in value than
- menos quelower in value than
- abaixofarther down
- embaixoin a lower place
- em baixoin a lower place
Punjabi ਥੱਲੇ, ਹੇਠ
- ਥੱਲੇ (thalle)in a lower place
- ਹੇਠ (heṭh)in a lower place
Romanian sub, dedesubt
- sublower in spatial position than
- dedesubtlower in spatial position than
Russian под, южне́е
- под (pod)lower in spatial position than
- южне́е (južnéje)south of
- ни́же (níže)unsuitable to the rank or dignity of
- ни́же (níže)lower in value than
- ни́же (níže)on a lower storey
- ни́же (níže)farther down
- ни́же (níže)of a temperature: below zero
- ми́нус (mínus)of a temperature: below zero
- внизу́ (vnizú)in a lower place
- ни́же (níže)in a lower place
Scottish Gaelic fo, fo
- folower in spatial position than
- folower in value than
Slovak pod, poniže
- podlower in spatial position than
- ponižedownstream of
- podsouth of
- podunsuitable to the rank or dignity of
- podlower in value than
- nižšieon a lower storey
- nižšiefarther down
- nižšiein a lower place
Spanish bajo, so
- bajolower in spatial position than
- solower in spatial position than
- sotalower in spatial position than
- más abajolater in the same text
- más adelantelater in the same text
- a continuaciónlater in the same text
- bajo ceroof a temperature: below zero
- abajoin a lower place
Swahili chini
- chiniin a lower place
Swedish nedan, under
- nedanlower in spatial position than
- underlower in spatial position than
- nedströmsdownstream of
- nedanförsouth of
- underunsuitable to the rank or dignity of
- underlower in value than
- inunderon a lower storey
- under däcknautical: on a lower deck
- nedanförfarther down
- nedomfarther down
- minusof a temperature: below zero
- nedanin a lower place
- underin a lower place
Tagalog sa ibaba ng, mababa
- sa ibaba nglower in spatial position than
- mababalower in value than
Ukrainian під, південніше
- під (pid)lower in spatial position than
- південніше (pivdenniše)south of
- нижче (nyžče)lower in value than
Urdu نیچے
- نیچے (nīce)in a lower place
Welsh isod
- isodin a lower place
Yiddish אונטן
- אונטן (untn)in a lower place
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with below
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
below. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/below
“below.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/below. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “below,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/below.
Source: below on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.