lowball
verb · adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Make a deliberately low estimate.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
lohbawlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈloʊbɔl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Make a deliberately low estimate
“The construction company wanted the contract badly and lowballed.”
transitive
To give an intentionally low estimate of anything, not necessarily with deceptive intent.
transitive
To make an offer well below an item's true value, often to take advantage of the seller's desperation or desire to sell the item quickly.
transitive
To give (a customer) a deceptively low price or cost estimate that one has no intention of honoring or to prepare a cost estimate deliberately and misleadingly low.
adjective
Significantly below the actual cost or value.
noun
A short glass tumbler used for serving lowballs, usually holding 180–300 ml.
An unmixed alcohol drink served on ice or water in a short glass.
A form of cribbage in which the first to score 121 (or 61) is the loser.
The position of the ball on an American railroad ball signal that indicated Stop.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Make a deliberately low estimate
Used this way, lowball is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“The construction company wanted the contract badly and lowballed.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use lowball
- “The construction company wanted the contract badly and lowballed.”verb
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.