underworld
Americannoun
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underworlds
plural
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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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
And Mylette Nora’s costumes artfully conjure both the underworld and the spiritual realm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
The actor, who previously starred in Downton Abbey, also joked there was no difference between the period drama and the criminal underworld of The Gentlemen.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Asmodeus’s pursuit sets off a picaresque journey through the Santo Domingo underworld.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
But as the Lord of Darkness, the massively built ruler of the underworld in Ridley Scott’s underappreciated fantasy, Curry embodied a paradox.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
I hold my torch high and see three long, narrow passageways leading into the dark underworld.
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
“This latest action marks a significant escalation in the partnership between the cyber underworlds of these two nations,” Chainalysis said on its blog.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 18, 2023
Globally, assorted gods have patrolled assorted underworlds for millennia, with death as their gloomy guard duty.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2022
The “Uncut Gems” creators, Josh and Benny Safdie, are known for their merciless filmmaking style, made up of seedy underworlds and populated with first-time actors cast off the street.
From New York Times ● Nov. 27, 2019
Ancient heroes who wished to grasp the truth of things had to pass through underworlds, or dwell in caves; sometimes, like Oedipus, they could see clearly only once they had been blinded.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 15, 2018
The devils in the underworlds wear out Deeds that were wicked in an age gone by.
From The Light of Asia by Sir Edwin Arnold
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
