lowdown
noun, adjective, adverb
lowdown is spelled L-O-W-D-O-W-N: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,363rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, lowdown means “inside information, the story or truth” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in lowdown?
| Letters | 7: L-O-W-D-O-W-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 45,363rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is lowdown?
Lowdown appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,363rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lowdown?
Lowdown has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Words people confuse with lowdown
Also written: low-down (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of lowdown
- low-down
- low down
- more lowdown comparative
- most lowdown superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lowdown mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
inside information, the story or truth.
All the reporters hoped to be the first to get the lowdown on the celebrity's marriage plans.
- 2
A lowlife, a despicable person.
adjective
- 1
Unfair; scoundrelly; shameful.
lowdown tactics
- 2
seedy, sketchy, disreputable
- 3
down low; purporting to be heterosexual while engaged in sex with men.
adverb
- 1
Unfairly; dishonourably; in a deceitful or mean manner.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lowdown in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense the whole truth:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Fakten, Infos, Informationen |
| Portuguese | revelação |
| Spanish | primicia, chiva, tubazo, emprima, notición, detalles |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lowdown come from?
Compound adjective of low + down in the sense of "humble" recorded in the 1540s, in the sense of "vulgar, far down the social scale" in 1888. Recorded as a noun in 1915 in the slang sense of secret or inside information.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).