bottom out

verb

To reach the bottom; to reach the nadir or lowest point.

“Going over that speed bump, my car bottomed out.”

Opposite
top out
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Meanings

verbbottom out (third-person singular simple present bottoms out, present participle bottoming out, simple past and past participle bottomed out)

present singular third person bottoms out · participle present bottoming out · participle past bottomed out · past bottomed out

  1. intransitiveTo reach the bottom; to reach the nadir or lowest point.
  2. idiomaticautomotiveOf a vehicle, to touch or drag along the ground or other surface.

    Going over that speed bump, my car bottomed out.

  3. idiomaticOf a vessel, to touch the bottom of a water body.
  4. engineeringOf a suspension or similar device, to strike the lower mechanical stop and lose the ability to buffer further downward motion.

    The hard landing caused the oleos to bottom out and the gear struts collapsed.

  5. intransitiveslangLGBTTo fully anally penetrate.
  6. idiomaticintransitiveTo be, at a basic level.

    The problem bottoms out into a management issue.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbreach the low point

Opposite
top out
Broader
reachmakeattain

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry
APA

bottom out. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bottom%20out

MLA

“bottom out.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bottom%20out. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bottom out,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bottom%20out.

Source: bottom out on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.