underdetection

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noun

Detection at excessively low levels, or at levels lower than are actually the case

OriginEnglish detection ← Latin dētēctiō ← Middle English under- →
Scrabble 18
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Meanings

noununderdetection (uncountable)
  1. uncountableDetection at excessively low levels, or at levels lower than are actually the case

    "But this study says that in these very disadvantaged men, there is underdetection and undertreatment, that the cancers are not being found early enough."

    2009 January 13, Nicholas Bakalar, “Prognosis: Left Behind in Prostate Cancer Screening”, in New York Times

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. Latindētēctiō
  13. Englishdetection
  14. Englishunderdetection

From under- + detection.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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