Under
adj, adv, noun, prep, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Definitions
- 1 The amount by which an actual total is less than the expected or required amount.
"[…] standard cash count forms used to record the count and any overs or unders."
- 2 Something having a particular property that is low or too low. informal
"I went fishing but caught nothing but unders."
- 3 A bet that a particular sporting statistic, such as points scored in a game, will be below a certain stated value.
- 1 Lower; beneath something.
"This treatment protects the under portion of the car from rust."
- 2 In a state of subordination, submission or defeat.
"The army could not keep the people under."
- 3 Under anesthesia, especially general anesthesia; sedated. colloquial
"Ensure the patient is sufficiently under."
- 4 Having a particular property that is low, especially so as to be insufficient or lacking in a particular respect. informal
"This chicken is a bit under. (insufficiently cooked)"
- 1 lower in rank, power, or authority wordnet
- 2 located below or beneath something else wordnet
- 1 In or to a lower or subordinate position, or a position beneath or below something, physically or figuratively. not-comparable
"pulled under by the currents"
- 2 So as to pass beneath something. not-comparable
"There's quite a gap, so you may be able to sneak under."
- 3 Less than what is necessary to be adequate or suitable; insufficient. in-compounds, not-comparable, usually
"The plants were underwatered."
- 4 In or into an unconscious state. informal, not-comparable
"It took the hypnotist several minutes to make his subject go under."
- 5 Down to defeat, ruin, or death. not-comparable
"The COVID-19 epidemic and shutdown took some businesses under."
- 1 further down wordnet
- 2 down below wordnet
- 3 below the horizon wordnet
- 4 below some quantity or limit wordnet
- 5 in or into a state of subordination or subjugation wordnet
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- 6 down to defeat, death, or ruin wordnet
- 7 into unconsciousness wordnet
- 8 through a range downward wordnet
- 1 Beneath; below; at or to the bottom of, or the area covered or surmounted by.
"We found some shade under a tree."
- 2 Beneath; below; at or to the bottom of, or the area covered or surmounted by.; Below the surface of.
"Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? SpongeBob SquarePants!"
- 3 From one side of to the other, passing beneath.
"I crawled under the fence."
- 4 Less than.
"Interest rates are now under 1%."
- 5 Subject to.
"We were constantly under bombardment."
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- 6 Subject to.; Subordinate to; subject to the control of; in accordance with; in compliance with.
"He served in World War II under General Omar Bradley."
- 7 Within the category, classification or heading of.
"File this under "i" for "ignore"."
- 8 In the face of; in response to (some attacking force). figuratively
"England's World Cup dreams fell apart under a French onslaught on a night when their shortcomings were brutally exposed at the quarter-final stage."
- 9 Using or adopting (a name, identity, etc.).
"J.K. Rowling has written a crime novel called 'The Cuckoo's Calling' under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith."
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"I accept, but only under one condition."
Etymology
From Middle English under, from Old English under, from Proto-West Germanic *undar, from Proto-Germanic *under, from a merger of Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰér (“under”) and *h₁entér (“inside”). Akin to German unter, Dutch onder, Danish and Norwegian under; also Old High German untar (“under”), Sanskrit अन्तर् (antar, “within”), Latin infrā (“below, beneath”) and inter (“between, among”).
Related phrases
More for "under"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.