Below means in a lower position or place than something else. When you look down from the top of a staircase, everything you see is below you. When a submarine dives beneath the waves, it travels below the surface of the ocean. In a tall building, the first floor is below the second floor.

The word shows up everywhere once you start noticing it. A teacher might write “see below” on a worksheet, directing you to look further down the page for more information. Weather forecasters talk about temperatures falling below freezing (which means colder than 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the point where water turns to ice). Mountain climbers measure elevation: base camp sits far below the summit.

Below works as both a direction and a comparison. If your test score falls below the class average, you scored lower than most students. If a store sells items below cost, it's charging less than what it paid for them.

The opposite of below is above. Picture a simple drawing: if you draw a bird above a tree and a rabbit below it, anyone can instantly understand their positions. That's the beauty of these direction words: they create a mental map that everyone shares.