Underwork
//ˌʌndə(ɹ)ˈwɜː(ɹ)k// noun, verb
noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Subordinate work; petty business. uncountable
"the underwork of the nation"
Verb
- 1 To require too little work from; to work insufficiently. transitive
- 2 To work or operate in secret or clandestinely. intransitive, obsolete
"[H]e raiſeth (in priuate) a nevv Inſtrument, one Sertorius Macro, and by him vndervvorketh, diſcouers the others Coũſells [i.e., counsels], his Means, his Ends, […]"
- 3 To do less work than necessary (on). ambitransitive
"to underwork a painting"
- 4 To do work for inadequate payment. intransitive
- 5 To injure by working secretly; to destroy or overthrow by clandestine measure; to undermine. transitive
"But thou from loving England art so far, That thou hast underwrought his lawful king."
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- 6 To do similar work for a lesser price than; to undercut. transitive
"One mason may underwork another."
Example
More examples"[H]e raiſeth (in priuate) a nevv Inſtrument, one Sertorius Macro, and by him vndervvorketh, diſcouers the others Coũſells [i.e., counsels], his Means, his Ends, […]"
Etymology
From under- + work.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.