Beneath

//bɪˈniːθ// adv, prep

adv, prep ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adverb
  1. 1
    Below or underneath.

    "Of all the transitions brought about on the Earth’s surface by temperature change, the melting of ice into water is the starkest. It is binary. And for the land beneath, the air above and the life around, it changes everything."

Adverb
  1. 1
    in or to a place that is lower wordnet
Preposition
  1. 1
    Below.

    "Our country sinks beneath the yoke."

  2. 2
    In a position that is lower in rank, dignity, etc.

    "Their despicable behaviour is beneath contempt."

  3. 3
    Covered up or concealed by something.

Synonyms

All synonyms
belowunderneathat a lower placeat lower placebelowsubordinate

Example

More examples

"The money was hidden beneath the floorboards."

Etymology

From Middle English benethe, from Old English bineoþan (“beneath, under, below”), equivalent to be- + neath. Cognate with Low German benedden (“beneath”), Dutch beneden (“beneath, under, down”), obsolete German benieden (“below”).

Related phrases

bag beneath one's eyebag beneath the eyebeneath contemptbeneath the surfacealmost correctbe kneebe niecebees kneeslike belowunder belowunder shelfunder something

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.