underworld
Americannoun
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the criminal element of human society.
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the imagined abode of departed souls or spirits; Hades.
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a region below the surface, as of the earth or a body of water.
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the opposite side of the earth; the antipodes.
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Archaic. the earth.
noun
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criminals and their associates considered collectively
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( as modifier )
underworld connections
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the regions below the earth's surface regarded as the abode of the dead; Hades
Etymology
Origin of underworld
Vocabulary lists containing underworld
Reading: Literature - Mythology - Introductory
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Reading: Literature - Mythology - Middle School
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Ancient Greece: Mythology and Literature - Middle School
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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.
Appeared in the October 24, 2025, print edition as 'A Worthy Trip Into the Underworld'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 23, 2025
Times bestselling book “Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise & Fall of SST Records” and a weekly Substack about books, music, and books about music called Message from the Underworld.
From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2025
Their skull-shaped body may represent Mictlantecuhtli, the Aztec Lord of the Underworld, and the iconic screaming sound may have prepared human sacrifices for their mythological descent into Mictlan, the Aztec underworld.
From Science Daily • Nov. 19, 2024
Say what you will about the Juice, but he’s been scheming his way across the Underworld for many moons.
From Salon • Oct. 19, 2024
“But necessary to learn and classify all the Underworld plants. We will be working on these in November.”
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
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.
