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under

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under

  • /ˈʌndə/ UK
  • /ˈʊndə/ Northern England
  • /ˈʊndɐ/ Northumbria
  • /ˈʌndəɾ/ Scotland
  • /ˈʌndɚ/ US
  • [ˈʌn(ɾ)ɚ] US
  • [ˈʌɾ̃ɚ] US

Rhymes with -ʌndə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

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”).

Cognate with German unter, Dutch onder, Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish under, Faroese and Icelandic undir; also Old High German untar (“under”), Sanskrit अन्तर् (antar, “within”), Latin infrā (“below, beneath”) and inter (“between, among”).

preposition

  1. Beneath; below; at or to the bottom of, or the area covered or surmounted by. We found some shade under a tree.
  2. 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.
  6. 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. I talked Mom into letting me drop out of Girl Scouts and the Marian [redacted]. Let's just put that under "Unsuccessful Challenge."
  8. figuratively In the face of; in response to (some attacking force). 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.

Similar: below, beneath, underneath

adverb

  1. not comparable In or to a lower or subordinate position, or a position beneath or below something, physically or figuratively. pulled under by the currents
  2. not comparable So as to pass beneath something. There's quite a gap, so you may be able to sneak under.
  3. in compounds, not comparable, usually Less than what is necessary to be adequate or suitable; insufficient. The plants were underwatered.
  4. informal, not comparable In or into an unconscious state. It took the hypnotist several minutes to make his subject go under.
  5. not comparable Down to defeat, ruin, or death. The COVID-19 epidemic and shutdown took some businesses under.

Similar: below, beneath

adjective more under · most under

  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. colloquial Under anesthesia, especially general anesthesia; sedated. Ensure the patient is sufficiently under.
  4. informal Having a particular property that is low, especially so as to be insufficient or lacking in a particular respect. This chicken is a bit under.

noun unders

  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. informal Something having a particular property that is low or too low. 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.

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