(under-the-table when prenominal) done illicitly and secretly
slang drunk
First recorded in 1945–50
Anything that happens under-the-table is taking place secretly, like under-the-table payments that are illegal. The things on a table are easily seen, but it's not as easy to see what's happening under the table. That can help you remember that under-the-table activities are secret, covert, confidential, and sometimes illegal. If two businesses have an under-the-table agreement, no one else knows about it. If a company pays someone under-the-table, the money is not documented and therefore won't be taxed. Just about everything spies do happens under-the-table.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
North Korea’s pre-Covid economy had increasingly centered on black markets selling goods smuggled from China or under-the-table local goods—and with it the rise of a “donju” merchant class who made their wealth outside state control.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
Her mother, Mirian, had recently left an under-the-table job at a Queens restaurant that paid just $500 for 84 hours of work each week.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2024
Pilot’s former CEO also extended the offer of under-the-table payments to at least 10 other executives in April, according to Berkshire’s filing.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 29, 2023
She cycled through seven under-the-table jobs - as a babysitter, housekeeper, waitress and construction worker - within the first year.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2023
The lady walked gravely toward him, whereupon William again followed the under-the-table route, and finally flopped into a chair by his own desk.
From William Adolphus Turnpike by Banks, William
Sitting down for dinner alone, she “discreetly googled some of the words on her phone under the table: cotija, calabacitas, tabbouleh, bisque.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
She brought her dog, a small, rambunctious golden doodle who kept moving around under the table.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
“Then he checked his phone right there under the table, and said, ‘Oh, thank God, I am.’”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
Chinese authorities have tried to counter the competitive learning culture by cracking down on cram schools in recent years -- but tutoring, paid under the table, remains in demand.
From Barron's ● Dec. 30, 2025
She set the headpieces on the worktable, pulled a box from a drawer under the table, and handed it to me.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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.
