bottom

at the bottom of the heap/pile

in a worse situation than anyone else in a group of people. Those at the bottom of the heap feel that society has failed them. The homeless are at the bottom of the pile with little hope of improving their situation.

See also: heap, pile

at the bottom of the ladder

at the top of the ladder - in the highest position in an organization. She started at the bottom of the ladder, but was rapidly promoted.

See also: ladder

be bumping along the bottom (British)

if an economic system is bumping along the bottom, it is working very slowly. With the economy bumping along the bottom, it seems unlikely any new jobs will be created.

See also: along, bump

be/lie at the bottom of something

to be the real reason for something unpleasant. I don't know for certain why she dislikes you, but I suspect jealousy is at the bottom of it.

See also: lie

someone's bottom drawer

the things a young woman collects to use in her home after she is married. I've given her some silver cutlery for her bottom drawer.

See also: drawer

the bottom drops/falls out of the market

if the bottom drops out of the market of a product, people stop buying it. The bottom fell out of the art market and dealers were left with hundreds of unsaleable paintings.

See also: drop, fall, market

someone's bottom line

the lowest amount of money that someone is willing to give or receive in payment for something. My bottom line on this job is $5000 - I can't do it for less.

See also: line

the bottom line

1. the most important fact in a situation. The bottom line is that people's health is at risk if they smoke.

2. the total amount of money that a business makes or loses. The bottom line is what counts in most companies these days.

See also: line

copper-bottomed

a copper-bottomed plan, agreement, or financial arrangement is completely safe. She has a copper-bottomed contract with a very successful company. (always before noun)

from the bottom of your heart

with sincere feeling. We would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your help.

See also: from, heart

from top to bottom

in every part. We searched the house from top to bottom but we couldn't find the letter. They bought an old hotel and restyled it from top to bottom.

See also: from, top

get to the bottom of something

to discover the truth about a situation. The family finally got to the bottom of why their boy was killed. (often + question word) How will investigators get to the bottom of the affair with so little evidence?

knock the bottom out of something (informal)

to harm something and make it weaker, especially by taking away the thing it needs in order to continue or be successful. Ben losing his job has knocked the bottom out of our plans to buy a house.

See also: knock

rock bottom

1. the lowest possible level. The morale of prison officers is at rock bottom. The president's opinion poll ratings have hit rock bottom.

2. if you are at rock bottom, you are the most unhappy you have ever been in your life. I'd never felt so depressed in my life - I was at rock bottom - so I started drinking. After Carly left me I hit rock bottom.

See also: rock

rock-bottom

rock bottom - the lowest possible level. It says here they're selling off carpet stock at rock-bottom prices.

you can bet your life/your bottom dollar

if you say you can bet your life that something will happen or is true, you mean you are completely certain. You can bet your life she won't apologize.

See also: bet, can, dollar, life

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the bottom fell out (of something)

something suddenly lost value. When the bottom fell out of the real estate market, a lot of people lost a lot of money.

Usage notes: usually used in the past tense

See also: fell

the bottom of the barrel

the worst or least able members of a particular group. He described them as the bottom of the barrel of American society. There were only 40 students in the new class, and I think the admissions office was getting to the bottom of the barrel.

Usage notes: sometimes also in the form scrape the bottom of the barrel: I think the awards committee is really scraping the bottom of the barrel if they're giving this award to me.

the cream of the crop

See also: barrel

the bottom of the heap

the lowest rank within a group. Being near the bottom of the heap, the company has nowhere to go but up. Those at the bottom of the heap feel that no one cares about them.

the top of the heap

See also: heap

the bottom of the hour

30 minutes past the hour on a clock. We'll have more on these stories at the bottom of the hour.

the top of the hour

See also: hour

the bottom of the ladder

the lowest rank. Because she was just out of college, her job was at the bottom of the ladder.

the top of the ladder

See also: ladder

bottom out

1. to reach a level that is as low as it will be. Temperatures will bottom out in the teens tonight and reach the mid-20s by noon tomorrow.

2. to become as bad as it will be. Has the economy bottomed out, and how fast will it recover?

from the bottom of your heart

with sincere feeling. And I say from the bottom of my heart, I am so happy to be back in South Africa.

See also: from, heart

from top to bottom

in every part. We searched the house from top to bottom but we couldn't find the letter.

(from) stem to stern

See also: from, top

get to the bottom of something

to discover the truth about something. The electric company has not yet gotten to the bottom of why we had such a huge blackout.

hit rock bottom

to reach the lowest possible level or be in the worst possible situation. She used illegal drugs for eight years and quit before she hit rock bottom. The department has reached rock bottom, with employees being fired and supervisors facing criminal charges.

Usage notes: also used in the form be at rock bottom: Grain prices are now at rock bottom.

See also: hit, rock

you (can) bet your bottom dollar

you can be very sure. If there's anything he can sue you for, you can bet your bottom dollar you'll be in court.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of bottom dollar (= your last bit of money, which you would not risk losing)

See also: bet, dollar