Bottom — Defs

01 n. The lowest part of anything; the foot; as, the bottom of a tree or well; the bottom of a hill, a lane, or a page.

1.
The lowest part of anything; the foot; as, the bottom of a tree or well; the bottom of a hill, a lane, or a page.
“Or dive into the bottom of the deep.” — Shak.
2.
The part of anything which is beneath the contents and supports them, as the part of a chair on which a person sits, the circular base or lower head of a cask or tub, or the plank floor of a ship's hold; the under surface.
“Barrels with the bottom knocked out.” — Macaulay.

“No two chairs were alike; such high backs and low backs and leather bottoms and worsted bottoms.” — W. Irving.
3.
That upon which anything rests or is founded, in a literal or a figurative sense; foundation; groundwork.
4.
The bed of a body of water, as of a river, lake, sea.
5.
The fundament; the buttocks.
6.
An abyss.[Obs.]
7.
Low land formed by alluvial deposits along a river; low-lying ground; a dale; a valley.
8.
The part of a ship which is ordinarily under water; hence, the vessel itself; a ship.(Naut.)
“My ventures are not in one bottom trusted.” — Shak.

“Not to sell the teas, but to return them to London in the same bottoms in which they were shipped.” — Bancroft.
9.
Power of endurance; as, a horse of a good bottom.
10.
Dregs or grounds; lees; sediment.
“He was at the bottom of many excellent counsels.” — Addison.

Phrases & compounds

Full bottom — a hull of such shape as permits carrying a large amount of merchandise.

02 a. Of or pertaining to the bottom; fundamental; lowest; under; as, bottom rock; the bottom board of a wagon box; bottom prices.

1.
Of or pertaining to the bottom; fundamental; lowest; under; as, bottom rock; the bottom board of a wagon box; bottom prices.

Phrases & compounds

Bottom glade — a low glade or open place; a valley; a dale.

Bottom grass — grass growing on bottom lands.

Bottom land — See 1st Bottom, n., 7.

03 v. t. To found or build upon; to fix upon as a support; -- followed by on or upon.

imp. & p. p. Bottomed; p. pr. & vb. n. Bottoming

1.
To found or build upon; to fix upon as a support; -- followed by on or upon.
“Action is supposed to be bottomed upon principle.” — Atterbury.

“Those false and deceiving grounds upon which many bottom their eternal state].” — South.
2.
To furnish with a bottom; as, to bottom a chair.
3.
To reach or get to the bottom of.

04 v. i. To rest, as upon an ultimate support; to be based or grounded; -- usually with on or upon.

1.
To rest, as upon an ultimate support; to be based or grounded; -- usually with on or upon.
“Find on what foundation any proposition bottoms.” — Locke.
2.
To reach or impinge against the bottom, so as to impede free action, as when the point of a cog strikes the bottom of a space between two other cogs, or a piston the end of a cylinder.

05 n. A ball or skein of thread; a cocoon.

1.
A ball or skein of thread; a cocoon.[Obs.]
“Silkworms finish their bottoms in . . . fifteen days.” — Mortimer.

06 v. t. To wind round something, as in making a ball of thread.

1.
To wind round something, as in making a ball of thread.[Obs.]
“As you unwind her love from him, Lest it should ravel and be good to none, You must provide to bottom it on me.” — Shak.