nether
Americanadjective
-
lying or believed to lie beneath the earth's surface; infernal.
the nether regions.
-
lower or under.
his nether lip.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of nether
before 900; Middle English nethere, Old English neothera, nithera, derivative of nither down (cognate with German nieder ), literally, further down, equivalent to ni- down + -ther comparative suffix
Explanation
The nether part of something is the lowest part of it, the bottom. If you’re having, ahem, trouble in the toilet, you might want to go talk to the doc about your nether parts. You might find the word nether in old books where "the nether world" could mean the world under the earth’s surface, like in Dante’s Inferno where he travels through hell, under the earth, before climbing up to paradise in the heavens. If you look closely you can hear the word nether in the word we normally use now: beneath.
Vocabulary lists containing nether
100 SAT Words Beginning with "N"
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The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
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The Last Last-Day-of-Summer
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The discovery at Nether Heyford, near Northampton, developed into Clasp, a community archaeology project, which lasted until 2012, attracting students, volunteers and archaeologists from around the world.
From BBC • Dec. 27, 2025
The idyllic Overworld has been invaded by nasty piglins from the hellish Nether.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 21, 2023
Her murders are committed in midcentury vicarages and hamlets with names like Chipping Cleghorn and Nether Mickford.
From New York Times • Jul. 27, 2021
While Nether Meant was much smaller in scale than Open Pit’s other online festivals, it drew a much larger crowd.
From Washington Post • Apr. 15, 2020
The two poets, then personally unknown to each other, first became acquainted in the summer of 1796, at Nether Stowey, in Somersetshire.
From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 1. No 1, June 1850 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
