undergo
Americanverb (used with object)
-
undergoes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
underwent,
past
-
undergone,
past participle
-
undergoing
present participle
verb
Usage
What is another way to say undergo? To undergo something is to be subjected to or to endure that thing. How does undergo differ from experience? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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undergosimple
-
undergoessimple
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have undergoneperfect
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has undergoneperfect
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am undergoingprogressive
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are undergoingprogressive
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is undergoingprogressive
-
have been undergoingperfect progressive
-
has been undergoingperfect progressive
Past
-
underwentsimple
-
had undergoneperfect
-
was undergoingprogressive
-
were undergoingprogressive
-
had been undergoingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of undergo
First recorded before 1000; Middle English undergon, Old English undergān. See under-, go 1
Explanation
Undergo means "endure until something is complete." You might undergo testing to check your hearing or undergo special training if you want to volunteer at a homeless shelter. The verb undergo means "experience" or "undertake." It is often used to describe medical procedures, such as, an injured quarterback who will undergo shoulder surgery. The word implies that it is something that has to happen so that a positive change occurs, like healing in the case of the quarterback or greater communication skills for a hot-tempered person who undergoes anger management training.
Vocabulary lists containing undergo
Word Generation Weekly - Series 3
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The Red Umbrella
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“On Civil Disobedience” by Mohandas K. Gandhi
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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:
The company added that suspending a store is a "precautionary measure" to prevent further alerts while staff undergo additional training.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
They would then have to undergo a conversion from matter into energy and back into matter, producing new baryons that move outward perpendicular to the beam.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Freeman did not undergo any imaging on his various aches and pains, although he said head athletic trainer Thomas Albert asked if he felt like he needed any.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
The younger Mr. Koch, now an executive vice president at the family business, reports that his father made him undergo a capitalist’s education from a young age.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
For instance, although she continued to discharge her professional duties with all her usual diligence, her general mood tended to undergo swings of a sort I had hitherto never witnessed.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
Wednesday’s meeting is under particular scrutiny as the BI undergoes a leadership transition following the departure of long-serving Gov. Perry Warjiyo, who stepped down in July citing personal reasons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
The request comes as Penn Station undergoes its most significant transformation in decades.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
Observing the Poisson spot provided convincing evidence that light undergoes diffraction, meaning it bends and spreads as it passes around objects or through small openings.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
The 11th Century embroidery, which depicts the Norman conquest of England in 1066, is being loaned to the UK while its usual home, the Bayeux Museum in Normandy, undergoes a major renovation.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
The Hindu religion is the only one of the world’s great faiths dedicated to the idea that the Cosmos itself undergoes an immense, indeed an infinite, number of deaths and rebirths.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
The 26-year-old, who underwent a heart transplant in 2012, began taking an off-label prescription for everolimus, a generic version of Novartis’s anti-rejection drug Zortress, a year later.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
Among them were the archosauriforms, which underwent extensive diversification during the Triassic.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
The Norwegian great underwent Achilles surgery in January and only returned to training six weeks ago.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
His 2025 tax document and his account portal in May had listed 500 shares, just before SpaceX underwent a 5-1 stock split, resulting, by Rupireddy’s account, in 2,500 shares at the time of the IPO.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
It is generally thought that Chinese astronomy thereafter underwent a steep decline.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
At least 200 people have undergone amputations -- almost half of whom are minors -- according to the NGO Dos Santos Foundation, which is raising funds for prosthetics.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
In the years since, it has undergone multiple price cuts, most recently returning to the market on July 7, when it was listed for the lower price of $4.5 million.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
Under current medical practice, estrogen-only therapy is prescribed only to people who have undergone a hysterectomy because of the risk of endometrial cancer.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
The Belfast Trust has said she "has a complex condition which means she has undergone several surgeries within Belfast Trust, and remains an outpatient in our care with her next appointment later this month".
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
The United States had just undergone the failed Cuban Bay of Pigs drama, followed by the Cuban Missile Crisis.
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
He spent three months on the IL after undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow in late April.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Not to mention air conditioning is usually powered by electricity, an energy source undergoing palpable decarbonization.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Speaking about Lucy's case, Travelodge said that while incidents like this were "very rare", customer safety and security was, and remained, a priority with staff undergoing recent training.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
O’lita Schafer said she moved to Crenshaw Boulevard two years ago and explained that her house is undergoing a major construction project due to an unstable foundation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Jaime arrived at the end of the party because he had stayed late working in the clinic for the poor where he was undergoing his first training as a medical student.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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.
