underway

U1N1D2E1R1W4A1Y4
UK/ʌndəˈweɪ/US/ʌndəɹˈweɪ//ˈʌndə(ɹ)weɪ/

adverb

In motion, in progress; being done or carried out; on a journey.

CommonScrabble 15

Meanings

underway1

adverbunderway (comparative more underway, superlative most underway)

comparative more underway · superlative most underway · alternative under way

  1. In motion, in progress; being done or carried out; on a journey.

    The next wave, well underway, is shipping back-office business tasks overseas, ...

    2008 February 14, Steve Lohr, “Offshore Outsourcing’s Next Wave: How High?”, in NY Times, retrieved 22 Jan 2012
    1 more example

    The political world might still be recovering from the 2016 presidential election and focusing now on the midterm fights for Congress, but here in the nation's first primary state the battle for 2020 is already well underway.

    2018 April 7, Andrew Dickinson, “In New Hampshire, the 2020 presidential race is already well underway”, in NBC News, retrieved 20 Sep 2018

underway2

noununderway (plural underways)

plural underways · alternative under way

  1. A road, track, path, or street for going under another way or obstacle; an underpass.

    As Minneapolis grew, the city demanded that M&StL construct "underways" beneath city roadways.

    2005, Donovan L. Hofsommer, “Adrift”, in Minneapolis and the Age of Railways, Univ. of Minnesota Press, →ISBN, page 152
  2. An underground passage, subway, tunnel.

    There are in fact many such subterranean underways in Germany, speeding traffic beneath bergs, burgs and villages and into and around and under big city downtowns ...

    2004, Alan Goldfein, “A Wonderful Drive”, in Europe's Macadam, America's Tar: How America Really Compares to "Old Europe", American Editions, →ISBN, page 46
  3. A voyage, especially underwater.

    I had been the diving officer on three previous submarines, …, and was an experienced officer of the deck with many underways and landings under my belt on all three.

    2008, Alfred Scott McLaren, William R. Anderson, “To Severnaya Zemlya and the Beginning of the Shelf Survey”, in Unknown Waters: A First-Hand Account of the Historic Under-ice Survey of the Siberian Continental Shelf by USS Queenfish (SSN-651), Univ. of Alabama Press, →ISBN, page 179

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivecurrently in progress

Also see

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

underway · adverb

  1. Dutchonderweg“underway”
  2. Englishunderway

Calque of Dutch onderweg (“underway”), equivalent to under- + way. Compare also German unterwegs.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 在進行中的 /在进行中的
  • 在進行中的 /在进行中的 (zài jìnxíng zhōng de)in motion, in progress; being done or carried out
Danish i gang
  • i gangin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
Dutch onderweg
  • onderwegin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
Finnish käynnissä, liikkeellä
  • käynnissäin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
  • liikkeelläin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
  • tekeilläin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
  • työn allain motion, in progress; being done or carried out
  • tulossain motion, in progress; being done or carried out
  • alikulkuroad, track, path, or street for going under an obstacle
  • alikulkuunderground passage, tunnel
  • matkavoyage, especially underwater
French en cours
  • en coursin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
German im Gange, angelaufen
  • im Gangein motion, in progress; being done or carried out
  • angelaufenin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
  • eingeleitetin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
  • laufendin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
  • unterwegsin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
  • Unterführungunderground passage, tunnel
  • Unterwasser-Reisevoyage, especially underwater
  • U-Boot-Fahrtvoyage, especially underwater
Hungarian folyamatban, folyik
  • folyamatbanin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
  • folyikin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
  • zajlikin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
  • haladin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
  • alagútunderground passage, tunnel
Irish ar bun, ar siúl
  • ar bunin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
  • ar siúlin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
Italian in corso
  • in corsoin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
Japanese 進行中で
  • 進行中で (shinkōchū de)in motion, in progress; being done or carried out
Polish w toku
  • w tokuin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
Portuguese em andamento
  • em andamentoin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
Russian в проце́ссе, в движе́нии
  • в проце́ссе (v procésse)in motion, in progress; being done or carried out
  • в движе́нии (v dvižénii)in motion, in progress; being done or carried out
  • ведётся (vedjótsja)in motion, in progress; being done or carried out
  • веду́тся (vedútsja)in motion, in progress; being done or carried out
Spanish en curso, siendo realizado
  • en cursoin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
  • siendo realizadoin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
Swedish på väg, på gång
  • på vägin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
  • på gångin motion, in progress; being done or carried out
Welsh ar y gwëyll
  • ar y gwëyllin motion, in progress; being done or carried out

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with underway

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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