low
- noun
- /loʊ/
- Specialized
- The driver shifted into low gear to climb the steep hill more easily.
Examples
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When tackling rough terrain, switching to low gear allows for better control and power.
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In low gear, the engine provides more torque, making it easier to start moving from a stop.
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But these deals were struck immediately before the onset of the financial crisis, which caused interest rates to drop to historic lows.
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We're in for near record lows in what is set to become one of the coldest Novembers on record.
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While citywide registration for the general election—502,841 total—reached an all-time historic high, the turnout rate, 52 percent, is at a historic low.
Blog text (18)
Synonyms
A gear in a car that makes the car move slowly when you start
A lower setting in a vehicle that gives more power and less speed for starting and climbing
The lowest gear in a car that you use to start moving
Antonyms
Idioms
Compounds
- Specialized
A loan or card that charges only a small extra amount for borrowing money
- Specialized
A radio frequency between 30 and 300 kilohertz used for communication
A lower setting in a vehicle that gives more power and less speed for starting and climbing
- Offensive
Someone who has little factual knowledge and follows simple slogans rather than facts
- Specialized
Using a low amount of electricity to reduce the risk of electric shock
- Specialized
Radio waves below 3 kilohertz that scientists and the military use for long-distance communication and measurement
- Specialized
A range of very low radio waves used for communication over long distances, for example by submarines
- Specialized
A small particle in the blood that carries cholesterol and increases heart disease risk when levels are high
- Specialized
Radioactive material from medical tests and hospital procedures that has low radiation and needs safe handling
- Specialized
A device that lets slow changes in signals pass and reduces fast changes
- Specialized
An explosive that burns slowly and does not make a strong shock wave like black powder
A group of about eighty coral islands in French Polynesia that are part of the Tuamotu Islands
A low evergreen bush with glossy leaves and black berries that grows in the southeastern United States
A group of German dialects spoken in northern Germany and parts of the Netherlands and Denmark
- Specialized
Forms of Latin used after the ancient period, especially in the Middle Ages
A low-lying region in western Europe near the North Sea made up of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands
- Specialized
A speech sound made with the tongue low in the mouth, like the 'a' in 'cat'
- Specialized
A style of sculpture where shapes stand out a little from a flat background with no part fully separate
Exercise with gentle movements like swimming or cycling that does not put much stress on the joints
Surface Forms
Etymology
Low for a gear in a vehicle uses the same idea of being 'not high' or slow in speed, so starting in 'low' gear gives you more power at low speed. That's why drivers shift into 'low' on hills or for heavy loads.