at the bottom
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
At the base or root. Pride is at the bottom of all great mistakes. RUSKIN: True and Beautiful, p. 426.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Examples
Ziri was at the bottom of the hill.Ziri đang ở cuối đồi.
Tatoeba sentence #11222851 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “at the bottom” mean?
At the base or root. Pride is at the bottom of all great mistakes. RUSKIN: True and Beautiful, p. 426.
Is “at the bottom” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.