underway

[ uhn-der-wey for 1; uhn-der-wey for 2 ]
See synonyms for underway on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. occurring while under way: the underway activities on a cruise ship.

Origin of underway

1
1735–45; adj. use of the adverbial phrase under way;see way1

Words Nearby underway

Other definitions for under way (2 of 2)

under way

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.

  1. proceeding; in progress: Plans are under way to sell the company.

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

How to use underway in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for under way

under way

adjective(postpositive)
  1. in progress; in operation: the 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

Other Idioms and Phrases with underway

underway

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

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