The Bottom Line Comes From Accounting
The bottom is the lowest part. The phrase bottom line means the final profit figure at the foot of a statement.
The bottom is the lowest part of something. *The bottom line* is not a metaphor about depth but about paperwork: on an income statement, the last line shows profit or loss after everything else has been accounted for. That is why it means the essential fact — it is the number the whole document was building towards.
- The lowest part. *The bottom of the page.*
- The seabed or riverbed. *Rocky bottom.*
- The buttocks. *Sit on your bottom.*
- Bottom line — the essential point. *The bottom line is cost.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | bottom | The bottom shelf. |
| Adjective | bottom | Bottom drawer. |
| Verb | bottom out | Prices bottomed out. |
| Compound | bottom line | The bottom line. |
| Opposite | top | The top floor. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The bottom line is we cannot afford it.The decisive fact.
- The market bottomed out in March.Reached its lowest point.
- Get to the bottom of it.Find the underlying cause.
Bottom phrases
- Bottom line — the final profit figure, or the essential point
- Bottom out — reach the lowest point before recovering
- Get to the bottom of — uncover the truth
- Bottom drawer — a British term for things saved for a future home
- Rock bottom — the absolute lowest point
From Old English *botm*, ground or foundation, related to Latin *fundus* and Greek *pythmen* — all from a shared root meaning base.
Why is it called the bottom line?
Because a financial statement puts net profit or loss on its last line, after all revenues and costs.
What does *bottom out* mean?
To reach the lowest point and stop falling, usually with the implication that recovery follows.