Meaning & use
bottoms out
Last updated
Meanings
verbintransitive
Reaches the lowest point of a decline, after which it stops falling and may start to rise.
Grammar: No object: the market bottoms out.
Patterns
- something bottoms out
- something bottoms out at something
Economists hope the housing market bottoms out this spring.
Her grades finally bottom out and begin to climb.
Prices bottom out at around two dollars.
verbintransitivetechnical
Hits the lowest limit of movement, such as a car's suspension or a vehicle scraping the ground.
Grammar: No object: the car bottoms out on rough roads.
Patterns
- something bottoms out on something
The low sports car bottoms out on every speed bump.
The suspension bottoms out when the truck is overloaded.
The bike bottoms out on steep drops.
Word forms
| base form | bottom out |
|---|---|
| past tense | bottomed out |
| past participle | bottomed out |
| -ing form | bottoming out |
Common combinations
- prices bottom out
- Analysts think prices will bottom out next year.
- the economy bottoms out
- The economy bottoms out before it recovers.
- finally bottomed out
- Sales finally bottomed out in March.
- bottom out at
- Rates could bottom out at one percent.
- suspension bottoms out
- The suspension bottoms out on that road.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hits rock bottom
- Hits rock bottom is more dramatic and common for people's lives, while bottoms out is usual for numbers and markets.
- levels off
- Levels off means stops changing, but not necessarily at a low point.
- reaches a low
- Reaches a low is plain and neutral and lacks the sense of a turning point.
- stabilizes
- Stabilizes means becoming steady, at any level, rather than the lowest point.
Opposites
Word family
- bottom noun
- the lowest part
- bottom out verb
- to reach the lowest point
- bottoming noun
- the stage of reaching the lowest point
- rock bottom noun
- the lowest possible level
Commonly confused: bottoms out or tops out?
bottoms out vs tops out
Tops out is the opposite: it reaches the highest point and stops rising.
Practice
Analysts expect the stock to stop dropping and ____ soon, then slowly recover.
Choose one answer.
'Bottom out' means to reach the lowest point before improving. 'Top out' means to reach the highest point, which is the tempting opposite.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bottoms out”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.