underpay

U1N1D2E1R1P3A1Y4

verb

To pay (someone) less than the value of their work; to pay (someone) insufficiently.

“The underpaid letter was returned to the sender.”

Opposite
overpay
OriginEnglish pay ← Middle English payen ← Old French paiier →
RareScrabble 14
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Meanings

verbunderpay (third-person singular simple present underpays, present participle underpaying, simple past and past participle underpaid)

present singular third person underpays · participle present underpaying · participle past underpaid · past underpaid

  1. transitiveTo pay (someone) less than the value of their work; to pay (someone) insufficiently.

    In their Position Paper, respondents averred that they were underpaid their daily wage, overtime work pay and 13th month pay.

    2020 July 28, Supreme Court of the Philippines, MARBY FOOD VENTURES CORPORATION, MARIO VALDERRAMA, AND EMELITA VALDERRAMA, PETITIONERS, VS. ROLAND DELA CRUZ, GABRIEL DELA CRUZ, JOSE PAULO ANZURES, EFREN TADEO, BONGBONG SANTOS, MARLON DE RAFAEL, CRIS C. SANTIAGO, ELMER MARANO, ARMANDO RIVERA, AND LOUIE BALMES, RESPONDENTS., FIRST DIVISION [ G.R. No. 244629, July 28, 2020 ]
    1 more example

    The company-city subgenre always seemed to star a hero who outsmarted, overthrew, or escaped "the company." I've never seen one where the hero fought like hell to get taken in and underpaid by the company.

    1993, Octavia Butler, chapter 11, in The Parable of the Sower
  2. transitiveTo pay less than is due for (something).

    The underpaid letter was returned to the sender.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbpay too little

Opposite
overpay
Broader
pay
Also see
short-pay

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

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. Proto-Indo-European*peh₂ḱ-
  13. Proto-Indo-European*péh₂ḱs
  14. Proto-Italic*pāks
  15. Latinpāx
  16. Latinpācō
  17. Old Frenchpaiier
  18. Middle Englishpayen
  19. Englishpay
  20. Englishunderpay

From under- + pay.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian плащам недостатъчно
  • плащам недостатъчно (plaštam nedostatăčno)to pay someone less than the value of their work
Chinese Mandarin 付給……過低的錢 /付给……过低的钱, 苛扣……工資 /苛扣……工资
  • 付給……過低的錢 /付给……过低的钱 (fùgěi ... guò dī de qián)to pay someone less than the value of their work
  • 苛扣……工資 /苛扣……工资 (kē kòu ... gōngzī)to pay someone less than the value of their work
Dutch onderbetalen
  • onderbetalento pay someone less than the value of their work
Finnish maksaa liian pientä palkkaa
  • maksaa liian pientä palkkaato pay someone less than the value of their work
French sous-payer
  • sous-payerto pay someone less than the value of their work
German unterbezahlen
  • unterbezahlento pay someone less than the value of their work
Hungarian alulfizet
  • alulfizetto pay someone less than the value of their work
Italian sottopagare
  • sottopagareto pay someone less than the value of their work
Japanese 十分に払わない
  • 十分に払わない (jūbin ni harawanai)to pay someone less than the value of their work
Polish niedopłacać, niedopłacić
  • niedopłacaćto pay someone less than the value of their work
  • niedopłacićto pay someone less than the value of their work
Russian недопла́чивать, недоплати́ть
  • недопла́чивать (nedopláčivatʹ)to pay someone less than the value of their work
  • недоплати́ть (nedoplatítʹ)to pay someone less than the value of their work

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

unprayed
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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