underneath

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UK/ˌʌndəˈniːθ/Canada/ˌʌndɚˈniθ/US/ˌʌndɚˈnið/

adverb

Below; in a place beneath.

“We flew underneath the bridge.”

Meanings

adverbunderneath (not comparable)
  1. not comparableBelow; in a place beneath.

    I can't take my sweater off: I amn't wearing anything else on underneath.

    2 more examples

    I lifted up the pile of clothes, and underneath, on the floor, was a dark red stain.

    connected with it underneath, you see a very fine hair-spring.

    1825, Isaac Taylor, Scenes of British Wealth: In Produce, Manufactures, and Commerce, for the Amusement and Instruction of Little Tarry At-home Travellers
  2. not comparableOn the underside or lower face.

    No insects exhibit, like them, what may be termed four net-work eyes. It is very easy to perceive them in looking at the animal from above, and then examining it underneath

    1832, Georges Cuvier, translated by Edward Griffith, edited by Georges Cuvier, Edward Pidgeon, and Edward Griffith, The Animal Kingdom: Arranged in Conformity with Its Organization, volume 14, published 2012, →ISBN
preposition
  1. Under, below, beneath.

    We flew underneath the bridge.

    2 more examples

    Underneath the water, all was calm.

    We looked underneath the table.

  2. Under the control or power of.

    There was little freedom underneath the Nazi jackboot.

adjectiveunderneath (not comparable)
  1. not comparableUnder, lower.

    You can have the underneath bunk.

    2 more examples

    The underneath part is harder to reach.

    The mess in the kitchen was one thing. The way the place smelled was another—some sort of chemistry-lab stink on top, some other smell underneath it. He was afraid the underneath smell might be blood.

    1990, Stephen King, The Moving Finger
noununderneath (usually uncountable, plural underneaths)

plural underneaths

  1. uncountableusuallyThe bottom of something.

    The underneath of the aircraft was painted blue.

    4 more examples

    Nawnim yelped, heaved away, struck his head on the underneath of the bed, and rolled into view bawling.

    1938, Xavier Herbert, chapter V, in Capricornia, page 64

    It was a monolith of a golden color, opening at its base on to a cavern: its underneath was hollowed out by water.

    2002, Mary Ann Caws, Surrealist Painters and Poets: An Anthology, page 229

    I have been looking for an underneath I couldn't see.

    2010, Molly Brodak, A Little Middle of the Night, page 13

    they harden up a little as they cool, and they should be damp within; that's what makes them chewy, so don't worry that the underneaths of the macaroons look sticky.

    2011, Nigella Lawson, Nigella Express: Good Food Fast
  2. uncountableusuallyA background radio sound track played during a specific announcement or program.

    The underneath is music from the latest album by ….

    2009, Jay Trachtenberg (radio host), KUT-FM Radio, Austin, Texas, 17 Dec.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*underniþer
  2. Old Englishunderneoþan“underneath”
  3. Middle Englishundernethe
  4. Englishunderneath

From Middle English undernethe, undernethen, from Old English underneoþan (“underneath”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *underniþer. Equivalent to under- + neath.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic تَحْت, أَسْفَل
  • تَحْت (taḥt)below; in a place beneath
  • أَسْفَل (ʔasfal)below; in a place beneath
  • تَحْت (taḥt)on the underside or lower face of
  • أَسْفَل (ʔasfal)on the underside or lower face of
  • تَحْت (taḥt)under, below, beneath
  • أَسْفَل (ʔasfal)under, below, beneath
Bulgarian долу, отдолу
  • долу (dolu)below; in a place beneath
  • отдолу (otdolu)on the underside or lower face of
  • под (pod)under, below, beneath
  • долен (dolen)under, lower
Catalan sota, sota
  • sotabelow; in a place beneath
  • sotaon the underside or lower face of
  • sotaunder, below, beneath
  • sotaunder the control or power of
Czech pod, vespod
  • podunder, below, beneath
  • vespodunder the control or power of
Esperanto malsupre
  • malsuprebelow; in a place beneath
Finnish alla, alapuolella
  • allabelow; in a place beneath
  • alapuolellabelow; in a place beneath
  • allaon the underside or lower face of
  • alapuolellaon the underside or lower face of
  • allaunder, below, beneath
  • altaunder, below, beneath
  • alleunder, below, beneath
  • alapuolellaunder, below, beneath
  • alapuoleltaunder, below, beneath
  • alapuolelleunder, below, beneath
  • allaunder the control or power of
  • alaisuudessaunder the control or power of
  • alempiunder, lower
  • ala-under, lower
  • alapuolinenunder, lower
  • tunnussävelbackground sound track
  • tunnaribackground sound track
  • alapuolithe part under or lower
  • alaosathe part under or lower
French dessous, en dessous
  • dessousbelow; in a place beneath
  • en dessousunder, below, beneath
  • dessousunder, below, beneath
  • sousunder, below, beneath
  • sousunder the control or power of
  • du dessousunder, lower
  • d'en dessousunder, lower
  • dessousthe part under or lower
German unten, unten
  • untenbelow; in a place beneath
  • untenon the underside or lower face of
  • unterhalbunder, below, beneath
Hindi नीचे, नीचे
  • नीचे (nīce)under, below, beneath
  • नीचे (nīce)under, lower
  • निचला (niclā)the part under or lower
Hungarian alatt, alatt
  • alattbelow; in a place beneath
  • alatton the underside or lower face of
Irish ar íochtar, faoi bhun
  • ar íochtarbelow; in a place beneath
  • faoi bhununder, below, beneath
Latin subtus, subter
  • subtusbelow; in a place beneath
  • subterbelow; in a place beneath
  • subunder, below, beneath
Polish pod spodem, pod spodem
  • pod spodembelow; in a place beneath
  • pod spodemon the underside or lower face of
  • podunder, below, beneath
  • spódthe part under or lower
  • dółthe part under or lower
Portuguese abaixo, por baixo
  • abaixobelow; in a place beneath
  • por baixounder, below, beneath
  • sobunder the control or power of
Romanian sub
  • subbelow; in a place beneath
Russian под, под
  • под (pod)under, below, beneath
  • под (pod)under the control or power of
  • ни́жняя сторона́ (nížnjaja storoná)the part under or lower
Spanish abajo, por debajo
  • abajobelow; in a place beneath
  • por debajoon the underside or lower face of
  • bajounder, below, beneath
  • bajounder the control or power of
  • bajosthe part under or lower
Turkish altında, altı
  • altındabelow; in a place beneath
  • altıbelow; in a place beneath
  • altunder, below, beneath
  • emri altındaunder the control or power of
  • altıunder, lower
  • alt kısmıunder, lower
  • altıthe part under or lower

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with underneath

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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