bubble under

present singular third person bubbles under · participle present bubbling under · participle past bubbled under · past bubbled under

1. intransitiveTo remain beneath a level.

   The results bubbled under the limit.

2. intransitiveTo be in the background or margins of a phenomenon.

   The Republicans were bubbling under in the area, waiting for an electoral break.

3. intransitiveTo be successful on a modest scale, without yet being fully established.

   The band was still bubbling under then, but their fame was about to explode.

   2 more examples

   The record first happened a few years ago in Florida and had considerable sales. A year later, the record broke out again in Florida and again experienced considerable sales. Both times, it either made the chart or bubbled under.

   1971, Billboard, volume 83, number 13, page 31

   The new wave of green power is bubbling under in Swansea Bay.

   2015 November 25, The Independent