under-the-table

[ uhn-der-thuh-tey-buhl ]
See synonyms for under-the-table on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. transacted in secret or in an underhanded manner.

Origin of under-the-table

1
First recorded in 1945–50

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use under-the-table in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for under the table

under the table

adjective
  1. (under-the-table when prenominal) done illicitly and secretly

  2. slang drunk

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with under-the-table

under-the-table

In secret, as in They paid her under the table so as to avoid taxes. This term alludes to money being passed under a table in some shady transaction, such as a bribe. [Mid-1900s] Also see under the counter.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.