Underneath

//ʌndɚˈniθ// adj, adv, noun, prep

adj, adv, noun, prep ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1
The bottom of something. uncountable, usually
"The underneath of the aircraft was painted blue."
2
A background radio sound track played during a specific announcement or program. uncountable, usually
"The underneath is music from the latest album by …."

Adjective

1
Under, lower. not-comparable
"You can have the underneath bunk."

Adverb

1
Below; in a place beneath. not-comparable
"I can't take my sweater off: I amn't wearing anything else on underneath."
2
On the underside or lower face. not-comparable
"No insects exhibit, like them, what may be termed four net-work eyes. It is very easy to perceive them in looking at the animal from above, and then examining it underneath"

Adverb

1
under or below an object or a surface; at a lower place or level; directly beneath wordnet
2
on the lower or downward side; on the underside of wordnet

Preposition

1
Under, below, beneath.
"Underneath the water, all was calm."
2
Under the control or power of.
"There was little freedom underneath the Nazi jackboot."

Synonyms

below beneath under bed bedrock belly

Antonyms

Example

"I found the key underneath the mat."

Etymology

From Middle English undernethe, undernethen, from Old English underneoþan (“underneath”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *underniþer.

Related phrases

get underneath someone's skin underneath one's breath sound track

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