Matches in definitions, examples and entry notes are identified below.
How results are ordered
Dictionary lookup matches complete headwords and pronunciations, or words in English definitions. Additional readings, names and variants are linked from their principal entries. Related words are separate, and partial pinyin has its own suggestions. General lexical entries precede names and historical references. Available frequency counts help order comparable matches.
Frequency data from Cai & Brysbaert, SUBTLEX-CH (2010), Creative Commons Attribution. Counts describe written forms across their readings. A missing count is unknown.
the top and bottom of sth / the full vertical extent of sth / from top to bottom / to go up and down / before and after (as in 上下文[shàngxiàwén] "context") / (used after a quantity) approximately / ... or so / (in a social hierarchy) the high and the low / seniors and juniors (as in 上下和睦[shàngxiàhémù] "harmony between superiors and subordinates") / all members of a group (as in 舉國上下|举国上下[jǔguóshàngxià] "the entire nation") / relative superiority (as in 不相上下[bùxiāngshàngxià] "evenly matched")
Definitionall members of a group (as in 舉國上下|举国上下[ju3 guo2 shang4 xia4] "the entire nation")