lowerlower2 ●●○ S3 W3 verb 
Do you think we should lower the price? After 20 minutes lower the temperature to 325°. drugs to lower blood pressure Helen lowered her voice (=made it quieter) as they approached. His voice lowered (=became quieter).► see thesaurus at reduceRegisterIn everyday English, people usually say that someone turns down the temperature or volume rather than lowers it:· Can you turn the heating down?2move down [transitive] to move something down from higher up OPP raise: Very gently, he lowered the dog onto the rug by the fire. The flags were lowered to half-mast. Greg watched as the coffin was lowered.lower yourself He lowered himself carefully down from the top of the wall.3lower your eyes/head to look down OPP raise: Christina blushed and lowered her eyes.4lower yourself [usually in negatives] to behave in a way that makes people respect you less: I wouldn’t lower myself to speak to her after what she’s done.5lower the tone (of something) to make something not as nice as it was: They thought an influx of students would lower the tone of the neighborhood. Trust you to lower the tone of the conversation (=include rude jokes etc in what you say)!—lowered adjective: He leaned forward and spoke in a lowered voice.
VERB TABLE
lower
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | lower |
| he, she, it | lowers | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | lowered |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have lowered |
| he, she, it | has lowered | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had lowered |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will lower |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have lowered |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am lowering |
| he, she, it | is lowering | |
| you, we, they | are lowering | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was lowering |
| you, we, they | were lowering | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been lowering |
| he, she, it | has been lowering | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been lowering |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be lowering |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been lowering |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Lowering its head, the bull charged at him.
- Houses have lowered in value recently.
- The Bundesbank is under pressure to lower interest rates.
- The coffin was lowered slowly into the ground.
- The old man lowered himself wearily into his chair.
- The old man just lowered at us as we walked by.
- We're lowering prices on all of our trucks.
- We had our kitchen cabinets lowered to be more accessible.
- We need to lower the mirror in the bathroom.
- At any moment he might trample into the road, lower his head, run at some one.
- Larsen then passed the window pane down to Grant, and lowered himself through in turn.
- Later a microphone was lowered to him.
- She lowered the sleeves, down, down, until they reached her wrists.
- The South Pasadena specialty food chain recently started lowering its prices for gourmet roasted whole beans.
- This is effective not because it lowers serum potassium concentration but because it directly antagonizes the membrane depolarizing effect of hyperkalemia.
THESAURUSto reduce prices, numbers, or amounts
to make the price, amount, or size of something less or smaller: · The price was reduced by 50%.· We need to reduce the amount of salt in our diet.
to reduce something, especially by a large amount – used about prices, costs, jobs, or the time needed to do something: · Companies are always looking for ways to cut costs.· The journey time will be cut to under 2 hours.· Staff numbers have been cut by half to about 150.
to reduce the level, limit, or amount of something. Lower sounds rather formal: · The voting age was lowered to 18.· The government decided to lower interest rates by 0.5%.· After twenty minutes, lower the temperature to 150 degrees.
to reduce something such as prices or costs, or reduce the level of something. Bring something down is less formal than lower: · The government wants to bring down the level of inflation.· The company is trying to bring its costs down.
informal to reduce an amount or price by a very large amount – used especially in newspapers and advertisements: · Public spending has been slashed over the past two years.· Prices slashed for one week only!
to reduce the amount of something – used especially about people deciding to spend less, do less, or use less of something: · The education budget has been cut back again.· I need to cut back on my workload.
to reduce the number of people employed in order to reduce costs – used about a company or organization: · The company is planning to downsize its European operations.
to reduce the size or the amount of money that is being spent on something: · The research programme has been scaled down.· The navy is being scaled down.
to make pain or feelings less unpleasant: · The drug is used to relieve pain.· A joke can help to ease the tension.
formal to reduce pain or suffering, or make a problem less serious: · You can buy various medicines to alleviate the symptoms of flu.· The new road was supposed to alleviate the congestion problem.
Longman Language Activatorto become quieter · That buzzing noise seems to be getting quieter now.grow quieter (=get quieter gradually) · As we walked into the woods the noise of the traffic grew quieter.
especially British to stop speaking or making any noise at all, for example because you are shocked or embarrassed: · Lawrence went very quiet after Jo told him how she felt.
if shouting, music, laughter etc dies down , it gradually becomes quieter after being very loud: · Forrester waited for the laughter to die down, then carried on with his speech.· The music was dying down. The show was over.die down to: · Jessie's wails died down to a whimper and then stopped altogether.
if a sound fades away , it gradually becomes quieter until you cannot hear it any more: · The sound of a police siren was slowly fading away into the distance.· She listened to Zach's footsteps fade away, as he walked down the staircase.
to suddenly stop talking and become quiet - used in literature and stories: · Dixon fell silent again, deep in thought.· "I had hoped ....," he began, and then fell silent again.· The bar-room door crashed open and the voices at the tables fell silent.
to speak more quietly because you do not want other people to hear what you are saying: · Kath lowered her voice as she spoke.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Helen lowered her voice (=made it quieter) as they approached. His voice lowered (=became quieter).COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES I managed to find a seat on the upper deck. Eddie returned to the flight deck (=the part of an aircraft where the pilot sits). the upper echelons of government Their clients are drawn from the highest echelons of society. an animal with two rows of teeth in its lower jaw There was very little likelihood of her getting the job. There should be more direct discussion between managers and workers lower down the line. His bottom lip was swollen. New technology has pushed the cost of health care even higher. the upper register of the cello January’s sales were slightly better than average.
Helen lowered her voice (=made it quieter) as they approached. His voice lowered (=became quieter). (=at which something can be done)· The voting age was lowered from 21 to 18.
· We should be reducing barriers to imports from poor countries.
· Slowly raise your upper body into a sitting position.
· At this time most of the working class was very poor.
· If you go later in the year, it will bring down the cost of your holiday.
I managed to find a seat on the upper deck. Eddie returned to the flight deck (=the part of an aircraft where the pilot sits). the upper echelons of government Their clients are drawn from the highest echelons of society.· The lower edge of the window frame was starting to rot.
(=make someone expect less success, money etc)· If you can't afford your dream home, you may have to lower your expectations.
(=look down at the ground)· The servants lowered their eyes as the countess walked past.
(=look down)· Her eyes met his and she immediately dropped her gaze.
· The upper half of the door contained a stained glass window.
(=look down)· He bowed his head and tried not not to look at her.
an animal with two rows of teeth in its lower jaw There was very little likelihood of her getting the job. (=the highest/lowest amount allowed)· There is no upper limit on the amount you can borrow.· Ensure the temperature in the aquarium does not fall below the lower limit.
There should be more direct discussion between managers and workers lower down the line. His bottom lip was swollen.· We need to avoid damaging people's morale.
· The company recently cut the price of its best-selling car.
New technology has pushed the cost of health care even higher.· The Halifax Building Society is to cut its mortgage rate by 0.7 percent.
the upper register of the cello (=the upper, lower etc parts)· We sailed down the lower reaches of the river.
(=put the sails up or down)
· Bonuses are not paid to people lower down the salary scale.
literary (=with a lot of grey cloud)· The leaden skies cleared and the sun came out.
January’s sales were slightly better than average.· It was misty and only the lower slopes of Vesuvius could be seen.
· He refused to lower his standards.
· In parts of the world, women still have inferior status.
· There’s no point promising to cut taxes if you can’t afford it.
· Paracetomol lowers your body temperature.
· the demand to lower the retirement threshold to 60
(=speak more quietly)· He lowered his voice to a whisper.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· Gay activists might offer the lowering of the age of consent or the war on Section 28.· The Labour Party's manifestos at the last two general elections contained proposals to lower the main retirement age.· Most of the sequence is middle Cambrian to lower Silurian age.
· But will the banks not then lower their interest rates, thus encouraging people to borrow?· The central bank last lowered interest rates on Dec. 14.· If banks lower the interest rates they charge to borrowers, they must also lower the rate they pay to depositors.· On Thursday, the central bank lowered both its floor and ceiling rates by a quarter point.· If loan demand were weaker, you might see banks lowering the prime more.· Traders said they expect the central bank to lower the key rates when it next lowers the two-week rates.
· This echoed a national unease at lowering complicated inter-provincial trade barriers which would upset thousands of special interest groups throughout the country.· Crews lowered boom barriers several feet high around the nearby ponds.· This torsion-angle strain would lower the activation-energy barrier for the phosphorylation of His15.· Lowering the cost, yes, but also lowering the barriers that made them hard to use.· After his election in 1984, Leon Febres Cordero lowered import barriers and subsidies, and ran a tight fiscal policy.· Albright will be lowering yet another barrier to the advancement of women in public life.· During phosphorylation, the active-centre torsion-angle strain should facilitate the phosphotransfer reaction by lowering the activation-energy barrier.
· Bend your arms at the elbow to lower body.· Keeping the heat inside Sitting in a draughty room will lower your body temperature and make you feel cold and uncomfortable.· Most reptiles utilize the buffering aquatic environment to lower body heat.· Slowly lower your hands and body towards that leg.· Bending your arms, lower your upper body backwards towards the ground and then straighten them without locking the elbows.· She recognised his need, and lowered her body so that his anxious pego infiltrated deeper and deeper into her heavenly playground.· Sit in a full splits position and lower the body gently to the floor in front.
· In product markets characterised by complex production processes long-term supply contracts or sub-contracts are commonly used to try and lower these costs.· If government subsidizes the production of some good, it in effect lowers costs and increases supply.· A firm which innocently seeks to lower costs and improve product quality may simultaneously be making it harder for entry to occur.· Similar House and Senate bills, which would lower campaign costs and restrict contributions and spending, were introduced last fall.· Technology also plays a key role in lowering our costs.· Similarly, in one situation, illegal non-capitalist practices -- labor fines -- lower the labor costs of a highly capitalist owner.· Reducing their earnings lowers the airline's cost curves and therefore will most likely cause the airline to reduce its prices.· As a result, insurance companies have no incentive to lower their costs, to find efficiencies, or to control fraud.
· Meanwhile an intensive modernisation programme will attempt to lower production costs.· If government subsidizes the production of some good, it in effect lowers costs and increases supply.· To keep profits up, firms will need to lower costs or get more value for their money.· Similarly, in one situation, illegal non-capitalist practices -- labor fines -- lower the labor costs of a highly capitalist owner.· Clearly, if that leads to lower costs and more services, we support it.· As a result, insurance companies have no incentive to lower their costs, to find efficiencies, or to control fraud.· Technology also plays a key role in lowering our costs.· By doing this, he lowers costs and raises profits.
· Just that the latter will have to lower their expectations and make do with imperfect versions of the former.· First, we must lower our expectations.· In many cases you have to lower your expectations accordingly.· Others argued that, unless the families lowered their profit expectations, Iberian could never change.· The suspicion is that Mr Koogle may have lowered expectations so he can later surpass them.· But overall Niccol has done a fine, restrained job in a genre for which many of us have lowered our expectations.· If the diamond fields were the key test, then Col Kposowa was keen to lower expectations.· People lower their expectations according to their age, looks, and wealth.
· He stepped back from the microphone and lowered his gaze, lost in painful emotion.· When Ryan read the charge of homicide of Menendez, Franco lowered his gaze from the bench and stared at his feet.· She lowered her gaze hastily and found her irrepressible sense of humour surfacing.
· Jackson lowered himself to the ground.· His son was too heavy, and he lowered him to the ground, where he would stay.· You will need a rope to lower them to the ground as they are heavy - throwing them down is dangerous.· Frank lowered me to the ground.· Masklin felt himself being slowly lowered towards the ground.· The body will begin to lower towards the ground.· As the body lowers towards the ground, place the palms of both hands on the floor for support.· Ali lowers him to the ground, holding his left hand, and tries to get him to walk.
· With every nerve tingling she lowered her hand, barely feeling the comb bite into her palm as her grip tightened.· He looked straight ahead and lowered his hands slowly to his sides.· Joe lowered his hands, with the belt still around them.· At their services they sat quietly, eyes lowered and hands folded, waiting for the Spirit to prompt some one to speak.· Slowly lower your hands and body towards that leg.· He lowered his hand and put it over his chest.· Bobo touched her crooked finger to her lips and then lowered her hand, palm upwards.· Sitting with legs apart, stretch up, then twist at the waist and lower the hands and body towards one leg.
· Her head was lowered in obedience, but there was a faint smile on her cherry lips.· Her head was lowered and her eyes were looking down.· His very stance could be intimidating, standing with his head lowered, bull-like.· Jack sat at the second mirror, his head lowered for maximum listening.· Maria couldn't move her head or even lower her eyes, and time had slipped.· Panting and cursing with pain and rage he came back, head lowered.· Its body is hunched up in a strange way, with its wings drooped, its feathers ruffled and its head lowered.· He found it and clung there for a while, then pushed clear and knelt among the waves, head lowered.
· If banks lower the interest rates they charge to borrowers, they must also lower the rate they pay to depositors.· If this were to inhibit credit expansion it could lead to lower interest rates.· The central bank last lowered interest rates on Dec. 14.· Thus an increase in money supply will lower interest rates.· Also, if we slip into a recession the Fed could lower interest rates, forcing long-term Treasuries' prices higher.· The policy-making Central Bank Council meets next Thursday to consider whether to lower key interest rates.· The initial effect of a higher money growth rate is to lower the interest rate.
· At Foxton, the side ponds allow refilling immediately after down traffic has lowered the water level, saving valuable time.· The three warm days that awoke the flies in the house have also considerably lowered the snow level.· Information flows in both directions at once - from lower to higher levels and from higher to lower levels.· Scientists will know more when they start lowering the water level next Tuesday.· This type of migraine is triggered by lowered oestrogen levels which occur around the time of a period.· Uricosuric agents generally do not lower uric acid levels below the normal range.· In 1992, used car values have fallen to even lower levels.· Hence, no exemplary model or incentive for change is provided to lower level managers.
· We will lower the limit on the Post office monopoly much closer to the level of the first class stamp.· Think small One such should be to lower the limits on the size and frequency of nuclear tests.
· Mr Petty is hoping to gain market share by lowering prices on popular menu combinations under a new three-tiered pricing program.· Last month, after its preliminary soundings of the market, Dataquest lowered its industry sales forecasts.· Current federal farm programs often guarantee growers a minimum price even if the market price drops lower.
· The 9.57 percent devaluation lowered the value of the yuan from US$1.00 to US$1.00 yuan.· Exports from that lovely island could be 40 percent lower in 1989 than in 1988.· The evening cortisol level should be 50 percent lower then the morning result.· On average prices were around 25 percent lower between 1720 and 1780 than they had been between 1660 and 1680.· They closed 3. 0 percent lower at 474. 5p, down 14. 5p.
· Walking is a prevention against heart and circulatory disorders and may lower blood pressure.· It may lower your blood pressure.· The cooling fan blows air out of the system unit thus lowering the pressure inside.· That diet lowered their blood pressure as much as a typical blood-pressure-lowering medication would.· Before 1950 there were no generally recommended drugs to lower the blood pressure.· One acupuncture patient was able to lower his blood pressure from more than 240 to 180 without drugs.· The boiling point of a liquid can be reduced by lowering the external pressure.
· If the price had been £50 lower it would have earned a fourth star.· Slumping heating oil prices drove other oil prices lower as well.· His main concern was that prices were even lower.· The companies have recently been negotiating deals with individual governments to lower prices.· If he is not able to secure those approvals in a year, the price may be lowered.· Current federal farm programs often guarantee growers a minimum price even if the market price drops lower.
· Lavish praise given for undemanding and second rate efforts lowers standards rather then enhances them.· Empowerment increases the opportunity costs of children, prompting later marriages and increasing the divorce rate, similarly lowering fertility.· Interest rates have been cautiously lowered.· Many deductions and tax shelters would disappear and in return, rates would be lowered under most flat tax plans.· Interest rates must be lowered and the system suffused with liquidity.· The initial effect of a higher money growth rate is to lower the interest rate.· With the downward-sloping supply curve, higher interest rates lead to lower demand and lower supply.· Traders said they expect the central bank to lower the key rates when it next lowers the two-week rates.
· For there is by now a mountain of medical evidence that moderate consumption of alcohol dramatically lowers the risk of heart disease.· Doing so lowers the risk of waking up stiff and sore.· By diversifying your team, you lower the risk of being beaten on the playing field.· By adding to your portfolio share with low betas, you can lower the combined risk of your holdings.
· It only needed two men working in unison to raise and lower the junk sails to suit the wind strength.
· Developing countries are attracting investment not by lowering their standards, but because they are making the best of their comparative advantage.· Suddenly interested in the achievement of poor black schoolchildren, pundits, federal officials and policy-makers unanimously condemn Ebonics for lowering standards.· Lavish praise given for undemanding and second rate efforts lowers standards rather then enhances them.· He refused to lower his ethical standards for higher ratings.· Food safety guarantees can lock food processors and distributors into purchasing home-produced food and not imports produced to lower standards.· It may become dull and mechanized, lowering its performance standards and expectations in the inter-est of predictable functionality.· Another response has been to dig deeper than usual into waiting lists or to lower admissions standards.
· Under a social compact which runs until the end of 1990, the investing organizations will pay lower income taxes.· Many deductions and tax shelters would disappear and in return, rates would be lowered under most flat tax plans.· Boys, we lowered your taxes.· The Nationalist plan would also lower the stock transaction tax to 0. 2 percent from the present 0. 3 percent.
· Keeping the heat inside Sitting in a draughty room will lower your body temperature and make you feel cold and uncomfortable.· They then fan the water so that it evaporates and in doing so lowers the temperature.· To cool, the motor forces air out of the box, so lowering the temperature.· The heat evaporates the water and this also lowers the temperature.· In Winter lower the temperature to around 66°F.· Uplifted sediments would be brought from their depth-related temperature regime and subjected to lower temperatures at higher structural levels.· A spray of fresh mineral water will lower your body's temperature instantly.
· Far from lowering the tone, the changes are set to improve it.
· At Foxton, the side ponds allow refilling immediately after down traffic has lowered the water level, saving valuable time.· I have to break the ice with a long pole before I can lower a bucket into water.· I gave Becky to them and lowered myself into the water.· Scientists will know more when they start lowering the water level next Tuesday.· Endlessly clear skies and lowering water tables.· Meanwhile, the draining of the small rivers for irrigation has lowered the water table in the region.· A four-year drought in East Anglia and extra demands for water from a burgeoning local population have lowered the water table.· The boats are swung out over the side, ready for lowering into the water.
VERB· Failing all this, raising and lowering your outstretched arms at your side is an accepted international distress signal.· Missing was a windlass, used to raise and lower the anchor.· These raise or lower, level by level, as you raise or lower the flame.· A simple weaving shed or thread separator is used to raise and lower the warp threads through which the weft is woven.· The threshold time is therefore automatically raised or lowered to compensate for the reader being swept too slowly or too quickly.· It advises a user to raise or lower the number of seats at each fare.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRYPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1reduce [intransitive, transitive] to reduce something in amount, degree, strength etc, or to become less: - A nurse took her arm and led her to a chair, commanding her to lower her head.
- Gao Yang lowered his head, sending drops of cooled sweat sliding Jown the tree to the ground.
- He lowered his head on to the table; the marble felt fresh in contact with his flushed skin.
- It made a small noise in its nostrils, then lowered its head slightly, as if bowing to her.
- Kathleen Lavender lowered her head, in tears of distress.
- The horse must be taught to lower his head and find balance on his hocks.
- When Ray finished, he passed the microphone and lowered his head.
- When we meet, she lowers her head and scoots by, but I can see the tears in her eyes.
- Corrigan took them and lowered himself.
- He slid into schooling like an athlete lowering himself into a whirlpool, feeling the heat deep in his tissue.
- Hindered by scolding women and jeering men, the soldiers lowered themselves into the cramped crawl spaces.
- I lower myself into the chair, keeping as far away as possible.
- I gave Becky to them and lowered myself into the water.
- Police were called to the shop in Southampton after a passer-by spotted Urben lowering himself through the roof into the showroom.
- She lowered herself to the beam, one leg down, the other forward.
- The hood framed her expressive face, emphasising the grimace of determination before she lowered herself into the starting blocks.
- Far from lowering the tone, the changes are set to improve it.
- For example, the first rise in expectations of the lower orders would be for more and better food before manufactured goods.
- For the most part the lower orders depended on selling their labour.
- Gin was, after all, commercially produced and consumed only by the lower orders.
- He shows no urge to rub shoulders with the lower orders but, if anything, a tendency to keep his distance.
- Journalists believed that their message could reach even the lower orders.
- The riots of 1736, too, had crystallized general resentments of the lower orders.
- We must have the freedom to make our mills successful, so that we can offer the lower orders employment.
- When friendships finally became possible for him they were with children of the lower orders.
- For example, the first rise in expectations of the lower orders would be for more and better food before manufactured goods.
- For the most part the lower orders depended on selling their labour.
- Gin was, after all, commercially produced and consumed only by the lower orders.
- He shows no urge to rub shoulders with the lower orders but, if anything, a tendency to keep his distance.
- Journalists believed that their message could reach even the lower orders.
- The riots of 1736, too, had crystallized general resentments of the lower orders.
- We must have the freedom to make our mills successful, so that we can offer the lower orders employment.
- When friendships finally became possible for him they were with children of the lower orders.
- A booming hearty from the higher reaches of Personnel fills our glasses and remembers nearly everyone's name.
- A clutch of them have clawed their way to the higher reaches of educational administration.
- But in the higher reaches of the Yorkshire Dales, there is nowhere to hide.
- Councillor Enderby had all the fluency of a life spent in the lower reaches of local government.
- It became a rough bridleway, leading through a series of gates on to the lower reaches of moorland.
- Quality flounder from the lower reaches of Poole harbour.
- She could either turn round, or brazen her way past the pressmen to the lower reaches of the parkland.
- There's many more like them, and not just in the lower reaches of the Football League.
- Far from lowering the tone, the changes are set to improve it.
Do you think we should lower the price? After 20 minutes lower the temperature to 325°. drugs to lower blood pressure Helen lowered her voice (=made it quieter) as they approached. His voice lowered (=became quieter).► see thesaurus at reduceRegisterIn everyday English, people usually say that someone turns down the temperature or volume rather than lowers it:· Can you turn the heating down?2move down [transitive] to move something down from higher up OPP raise: Very gently, he lowered the dog onto the rug by the fire. The flags were lowered to half-mast. Greg watched as the coffin was lowered.lower yourself He lowered himself carefully down from the top of the wall.3lower your eyes/head to look down OPP raise: Christina blushed and lowered her eyes.4lower yourself [usually in negatives] to behave in a way that makes people respect you less: I wouldn’t lower myself to speak to her after what she’s done.5lower the tone (of something) to make something not as nice as it was: They thought an influx of students would lower the tone of the neighborhood. Trust you to lower the tone of the conversation (=include rude jokes etc in what you say)!—lowered adjective: He leaned forward and spoke in a lowered voice.