underdeliver

U1N1D2E1R1D2E1L1I1V4E1R1

verb

To deliver less, or at an inferior level, than promised or expected

Scrabble 17

Meanings

verbunderdeliver (third-person singular simple present underdelivers, present participle underdelivering, simple past and past participle underdelivered)

present singular third person underdelivers · participle present underdelivering · participle past underdelivered · past underdelivered

  1. To deliver less, or at an inferior level, than promised or expected

    "[...] If the economy has tanked... then we don't want to over-promise and under-deliver."

    2022 October 5, “Network News: Private sector's role in a publicly-owned railway”, in RAIL, number 967, page 16
    2 more examples

    […] the result was a warning to all exhibition organisers about the dangers of overpromising and underdelivering when promoting events.

    2009 March 3, “Promoters fake Howard support”, in Herald Sun

    Hope Hicks, one of the President’s longest-serving aides, warned Parscale against touting ticket request numbers, reminding him that the number one rule in politics is not to overpromise and underdeliver, a source familiar with the matter said.

    2020 July 13, Michael Warren, Jeremy Diamond, Ryan Nobles and Fredreka Schouten, “Amid rising coronavirus cases, the Trump campaign struggles to get its rally machine going”, in CNN

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. Englishdeliver
  13. Englishunderdeliver

From under- + deliver.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Polish osiągać gorsze wyniki, niż obiecywano, osiągnąć gorsze wyniki, niż obiecywano
  • osiągać gorsze wyniki, niż obiecywanoTranslations
  • osiągnąć gorsze wyniki, niż obiecywanoTranslations
Spanish cumplir poco
  • cumplir pocoTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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