To touch bottom

To touch bottom
Bottom Bot"tom (b[o^]t"t[u^]m), n. [OE. botum, botme, AS. botm; akin to OS. bodom, D. bodem, OHG. podam, G. boden, Icel. botn, Sw. botten, Dan. bund (for budn), L. fundus (for fudnus), Gr. pyqmh`n (for fyqmh`n), Skr. budhna (for bhudhna), and Ir. bonn sole of the foot, W. bon stem, base. [root]257. Cf. 4th {Found}, {Fund}, n.] 1. The lowest part of anything; the foot; as, the bottom of a tree or well; the bottom of a hill, a lane, or a page. [1913 Webster]

Or dive into the bottom of the deep. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

2. The part of anything which is beneath the contents and supports them, as the part of a chair on which a person sits, the circular base or lower head of a cask or tub, or the plank floor of a ship's hold; the under surface. [1913 Webster]

Barrels with the bottom knocked out. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]

No two chairs were alike; such high backs and low backs and leather bottoms and worsted bottoms. --W. Irving. [1913 Webster]

3. That upon which anything rests or is founded, in a literal or a figurative sense; foundation; groundwork. [1913 Webster]

4. The bed of a body of water, as of a river, lake, sea. [1913 Webster]

5. The fundament; the buttocks. [1913 Webster]

6. An abyss. [Obs.] --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

7. Low land formed by alluvial deposits along a river; low-lying ground; a dale; a valley. ``The bottoms and the high grounds.'' --Stoddard. [1913 Webster]

8. (Naut.) The part of a ship which is ordinarily under water; hence, the vessel itself; a ship. [1913 Webster]

My ventures are not in one bottom trusted. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

Not to sell the teas, but to return them to London in the same bottoms in which they were shipped. --Bancroft. [1913 Webster]

{Full bottom}, a hull of such shape as permits carrying a large amount of merchandise. [1913 Webster]

9. Power of endurance; as, a horse of a good bottom. [1913 Webster]

10. Dregs or grounds; lees; sediment. --Johnson. [1913 Webster]

{At bottom}, {At the bottom}, at the foundation or basis; in reality. ``He was at the bottom a good man.'' --J. F. Cooper.

{To be at the bottom of}, to be the cause or originator of; to be the source of. [Usually in an opprobrious sense.] --J. H. Newman. [1913 Webster]

He was at the bottom of many excellent counsels. --Addison. [1913 Webster]

{To go to the bottom}, to sink; esp. to be wrecked.

{To touch bottom}, to reach the lowest point; to find something on which to rest. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • touch\ bottom — • hit bottom • touch bottom v. phr. informal 1. To be at the very lowest. In August there was a big supply of corn and the price hit bottom. When Johnny failed the exam his spirits hit bottom. 2. To live through the worst; not to be able to go… …   Словарь американских идиом

  • touch bottom — reach the bottom, touch the floor; reach the lowest level …   English contemporary dictionary

  • touch bottom — phrasal 1. : to scrape or settle upon the sea bottom 2. : to reach the lowest possible point prices seemed to have touched bottom and a rise is expected that day our hopes touched bottom …   Useful english dictionary

  • touch bottom — be at the lowest or worst point. → touch …   English new terms dictionary

  • touch bottom — See: HIT BOTTOM …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • touch bottom — See: HIT BOTTOM …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • touch bottom — Synonyms and related words: become suicidal, come down, decline, degenerate, despair, despond, deteriorate, die, droop, ebb, fade, fail, fall, fall away, fall off, give way, go down, go downhill, go off, go to pot, have a comedown, hit a slump,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • Bottom — Bot tom (b[o^]t t[u^]m), n. [OE. botum, botme, AS. botm; akin to OS. bodom, D. bodem, OHG. podam, G. boden, Icel. botn, Sw. botten, Dan. bund (for budn), L. fundus (for fudnus), Gr. pyqmh n (for fyqmh n), Skr. budhna (for bhudhna), and Ir. bonn… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Touch — Touch, v. i. 1. To be in contact; to be in a state of junction, so that no space is between; as, two spheres touch only at points. Johnson. [1913 Webster] 2. To fasten; to take effect; to make impression. [R.] [1913 Webster] Strong waters pierce… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • touch — touch1 W2S2 [tʌtʃ] v ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(feel)¦ 2¦(no space between)¦ 3 touch something to something 4¦(affect somebody s feelings)¦ 5¦(have an effect)¦ 6¦(use)¦ 7 not touch something 8 not touch somebody/something 9¦(deal with somebody/something)¦ …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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