underworld

[uhn-der-wurld]

noun

1. the criminal element of human society.

2. the imagined abode of departed souls or spirits; Hades.

3. a region below the surface, as of the earth or a body of water.

4. the opposite side of the earth; the antipodes.

5. Archaic.,  the earth.

underworld

/ ˈʌndəˌwɜːld /

noun

1. 1. criminals and their associates considered collectively

   2. ( as modifier )

      underworld connections

2. the regions below the earth's surface regarded as the abode of the dead; Hades

Word History and Origins

Origin of underworld¹

First recorded in 1600–10; under- + world

Example Sentences

But in the space of a few weeks the attacks put some of the country's leading underworld figures and their associates back under the police spotlight.

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Cultural images of the underworld are bound by writers, and though Kuang introduces new elements, she adheres largely to their canon.

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Thai police have also begun investigating powerful Cambodian business figures alleged to be linked to underworld gambling and scam centres, while trade worth billions of dollars a year has stopped.

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In a war for control of L.A.’s Armenian underworld, federal authorities say rival crews of gangsters engaged in a series of dramatic shootings and kidnappings across the San Fernando Valley.

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The data came from French police who broke the encryption code to the service favoured by the criminal underworld.

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Related Words

• gangland 
• mob 
• organized crime www.thesaurus.com
• syndicate