lowdown

[ noun loh-doun; adjective loh-doun ]

noun

1. Usually the lowdown. the real and unadorned facts; the true, secret, or inside information:

   We gave them the lowdown on the new housing project.

adjective

1. contemptible; base; mean:

   a lowdown trick.

2. low, especially socially or morally; degraded.

Word History and Origins

Origin of lowdown¹

First recorded in 1540–50; low ¹ + down ¹

Example Sentences

But she performs all the characters herself, and when she launches into song with her exquisite voice, moving from a range of high bell-like clarity to dusky lowdown in both original material by Irving and tweaked standards, the show is most fully alive.

From Los Angeles Times

Unlike in the moments after Reagan and his predecessor, Gerald Ford, were shot, you probably didn’t turn on the nearest TV or flee to the closest newsstand to get the lowdown.

From Slate

“He gave me the lowdown,” Crawford said.

From Seattle Times

BBC Sport has the lowdown on all the things you need to know.

From BBC

Samantha Morton’s nomination for “In America” was her second; her first came in 2000, for “Sweet and Lowdown” — a movie that starred Sean Penn, who would win that night for “Mystic River.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• advertisement
• advice
• comment
• criticism
• directive
• instruction
• manifesto
• memo
• memorandum
• news
• note
• notification
• order
• picture
• poster
• proclamation
• review
• story
• warning