bottom out

bottom out — phrasal verb

  • bottom outbase form
  • bottoms out3rd person singular
  • bottoming out-ing form
  • bottomed outpast simple

1. to reach the very lowest or weakest stage after a period of decline, typically j

1.片語動詞不及物B2
釋義

to reach the very lowest or weakest stage after a period of decline, typically just before the situation starts to improve or become stronger

例句

After months of falling sales, the company's profits finally bottomed out in March.

The housing market in Detroit bottomed out last year, and prices are slowly rising again.

collocation: housing market / prices bottom out

同義詞
  • hit rock bottom

    more dramatic and emotional; often used for personal crises or extreme lows

  • reach a low point

    more formal and neutral; does not strongly imply that improvement will follow

  • touch bottom

    less common; can be literal (a boat touching the seabed) or figurative

反義詞
  • peak

    to reach the highest point, the opposite direction of movement

  • top out

    the direct antonym — to reach the highest point before declining

文法句型

bottom out

bottom out at [amount/number]

用法筆記

Often used in financial and economic contexts (prices, markets, profits) but also common for any situation that declines then turns around — a fever, a relationship, someone's mood. The improvement phase must be implied or expected; if things just stop getting worse without any prospect of rising, 'level off' or 'stabilise' is more appropriate.

常見錯誤

❌The stock finally bottomed out at a low price and stayed there forever.
✅The stock finally bottomed out at a low price before recovering.
💡'bottom out' implies that an improvement follows; it is not just hitting the lowest point and staying there.
❌I bottomed out the prices by negotiating harder.
✅The prices bottomed out after months of decline.
💡'bottom out' is intransitive; you cannot 'bottom out' something.