under-the-table
adjective
transacted in secret or in an underhanded manner.
Showing results for under-the-table.
Search instead for
answer-the-phone.
Jump To:
-
under-the-table
-
under the table
under the tableadjective(under-the-table when prenominal) done illicitly and secretly
under-the-table
American
[uhn-der-thuh-tey-buhl]
/ ˈʌn dər ðəˈteɪ bəl /
adjective
under the table
British
adjective
-
(under-the-table when prenominal) done illicitly and secretly
-
slang drunk
under the table
Idioms
Etymology
Origin of under-the-table
First recorded in 1945–50
Explanation
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.
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:
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
Its lawyers coined the term “student-athlete” in the 1950s, but since under-the-table payments still existed it was offered with a cynical wink.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 29, 2023
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
They were not more than four or five inches thick, but that is the ideal height for an under-the-table cushion.
From The House in Good Taste by Elsie de Wolfe
Where had this man gotten the impression that I enjoyed dancing, my nervous foot swinging under the table?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
"I just ducked under the table and I was like 'I'm not going to risk this,'" she told AFP.
From Barron's ● Apr. 26, 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
And it has not gone unnoticed that this upturn has coincided with Mekies getting his feet under the table.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2025
They’re at the library during English Comp, and he takes her fingers under the table, and she lets him.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
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.
