underbalanced

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adjective

Describing a method of drilling for petroleum in which the pressure in the wellbore is kept lower than that of the formation being drilled, thus allowing fluid to enter the well as soon as it is found.

OriginEnglish balanced ← Middle English under- ← Old English under- →
Scrabble 19
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Meanings

adjectiveunderbalanced (not comparable)
  1. not comparableDescribing a method of drilling for petroleum in which the pressure in the wellbore is kept lower than that of the formation being drilled, thus allowing fluid to enter the well as soon as it is found.

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. Englishbalanced
  13. Englishunderbalanced

From under- + balanced.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

underbalanced. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underbalanced

MLA

“underbalanced.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underbalanced. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “underbalanced,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underbalanced.

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