underapply

U1N1D2E1R1A1P3P3L1Y4

verb

To apply to an insufficient degree.

OriginEnglish apply ← Middle English aplien ← Old French applier →
Scrabble 18
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbunderapply (third-person singular simple present underapplies, present participle underapplying, simple past and past participle underapplied)

present singular third person underapplies · participle present underapplying · participle past underapplied · past underapplied

  1. transitiveTo apply to an insufficient degree.

    Some authorities recommend using sunscreens of at least SPF 29, with the rationale that most people underapply […]

    2003, Paul S Auerbach, Medicine for the Outdoors

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁entér
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂én
  4. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-?
  5. Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰí
  6. Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰér
  7. Proto-Germanic*under
  8. Proto-West Germanic*undar
  9. Old Englishunder-
  10. Middle Englishunder-
  11. Englishunder-
  12. Latinapplicō
  13. Old Frenchapplier
  14. Middle Englishaplien
  15. Englishapply
  16. Englishunderapply

From under- + apply.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

underapply. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underapply

MLA

“underapply.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underapply. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “underapply,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underapply.

Source: underapply on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.