underserve

U1N1D2E1R1S1E1R1V4E1
UK/ˌʌndəˈsɜːv/Canada, US/ˌʌndɚˈsɝv/Australia/ˌɐndəˈsɜːv/

verb

To supply something with insufficient services or resources.

OriginEnglish serve ← Middle English under- ← Old English under- →
Scrabble 14
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Meanings

verbunderserve (third-person singular simple present underserves, present participle underserving, simple past and past participle underserved)

present singular third person underserves · participle present underserving · participle past underserved · past underserved

  1. transitiveTo supply something with insufficient services or resources.

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. Englishserve
  13. Englishunderserve

From under- + serve.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

unreservedunderverseunreversedundeserver
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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