**Lowering** a flag is the act of taking it down from the staff or mast. In formal protocol, lowering is performed slowly and with ceremony, in contrast to the brisk hoisting that precedes it. A flag is lowered at sunset under the sunrise-to-sunset rule, lowered to half-staff as a mark of mourning, and lowered fully to mark the conclusion of a parade or ceremony.
**Example**: At evening colours, a naval ensign is lowered slowly so that its hoist reaches the deck precisely at sunset.
**See also**: [hoisting](/glossary/hoisting/), [sunrise-to-sunset-rule](/glossary/sunrise-to-sunset-rule/), [half-staff](/glossary/half-staff/), [halyard](/glossary/halyard/)