垫底

墊底

diàndǐ

verb HSK 7-9 #6,790

Meanings

1 to come in last place; to be at the bottom
2 to serve as a base; to pad the bottom

Characters

to pad; to cushion; mat

Literally 'pad the bottom.' In competitions, 'padding the bottom' means being the one propping up everyone else — dead last.

Examples

这次比赛我们队又垫底了。

Zhècì bǐsài wǒmen duì yòu diàndǐ le.

Our team came in last again in this competition.

先吃点东西垫垫底。

Xiān chī diǎn dōngxi diàn diandǐ.

Eat something first to put a base in your stomach.

Tips

usage

垫底 has two very different uses: in rankings it means 'last place,' but in eating it means 'to have a snack to tide you over' — literally padding the bottom of your empty stomach before a big meal or drinking.

Stroke Order

垫 diàn

底 dǐ