Meaning of “lower” in the English Dictionary

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"lower" in English

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lowerverb [ T ]

uk ​ /ˈləʊ.ər/ us ​ /ˈloʊ.ɚ/

lower verb [ T ] (MOVE)

B2 to move something into a low position:

They lowered the coffin into the grave.
Heavily pregnant by now, she lowered herself carefully into the chair.
He lowered his eyes (= looked down) in embarrassment when he saw me.

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lower verb [ T ] (REDUCE)

B2 to reduce something:

Interest rates have been lowered again.
Boil for five minutes, then lower the heat and simmer for half an hour.
Please lower your voice (= speak more quietly).

› to make something worse than it was before:

a lowering of standards
humorous Dale lowered the tone of the evening (= made it less socially acceptable) by telling a dirty joke.

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loweradjective

uk ​ /ˈləʊ.ər/ us ​ /ˈloʊ.ɚ/

› positioned below one or more similar things, or of the bottom part of something:

the lower deck of a ship
Her lower lip trembled as if she were about to cry.
I've got a pain in my lower (= the bottom part of my) back.
Opposite
upper

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(Definition of “lower” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

"lower" in American English

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lowerverb

us ​ /ˈloʊ·ər/

lower verb (SMALLER THAN USUAL)

› [ I/T ] to reduce something, or to become less:

[ T ] They lowered the asking price of their house.
[ T ] Please lower your voice (= speak more softly).

lower verb (NOT HIGH)

› [ T ] to let or bring someone or something down, or make something less high:

She lowered the blinds to block out the afternoon sun.

(Definition of “lower” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

"lower" in Business English

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lowerverb [ T ]

uk ​ /ˈləʊər/ us ​

› to reduce the level, price, etc. of something:

lower costs/rates/prices There was growing pressure on banks to lower interest rates and ease the availability of credit.
Landmark legislation requires California to lower greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020.
He accused universities of lowering standards in order to raise income.
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raise verb

(Definition of “lower” from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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