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under way

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adjective, adverb
  1. Also underway. (of a ship) no longer in port, at anchor, etc.; moving.
  2. no longer at rest, stationary, etc.; in motion; traveling: We'll put our bags in the car and be under way.
  3. proceeding; in progress: Plans are under way to sell the company.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for under way

Historical Examples

  • At length, with a joint-dislocating jerk, we again got under-way, only to come to a dead stop a hundred yards further on.

    The Fortunate Isles

    Mary Stuart Boyd

British Dictionary definitions for under way

under way

adjective (postpositive)
  1. in progress; in operationthe show was under way
  2. nautical in motion
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

Idioms and Phrases with under way

under way

1

In motion, as in The ship got under way at noon. [c. 1930]

2

Already started, in progress, as in Plans are under way to expand. [c. 1930]

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