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
-
undergosimple
-
undergoessimple
-
have undergoneperfect
-
has undergoneperfect
-
am undergoingprogressive
-
are undergoingprogressive
-
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:
Waititi confronts an ominous future in which children undergo genetic enhancements to become super-smart and society is even more stratified than it is now.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
Patients undergo surgery to have their tumor removed.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
As such, the opera could undergo revision before reaching New York—a lot else can happen in 18 months.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
In Tanzania, visitors are expected to undergo daily health monitoring for 21 days, through an automated tracking system, which was announced after Kenya confirmed multiple cases of Ebola infections.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
There are presumably adventures that she— that is that I—can’t undergo and still continue to be herself.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Together, these findings suggest that the immune system undergoes measurable changes many years before inflammatory bowel disease is diagnosed.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026
The departures come as Weil undergoes a leadership transition, with Ramona Nee set to succeed executive partner Barry Wolf.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
The stakes are particularly high this time around as the company undergoes an artificial-intelligence transition with the upcoming rollout of its Apple Intelligence and agentic Siri.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026
While Perez undergoes treatment, the family is trying to figure out what could have triggered the mental health crisis.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 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
Utilities also retreated in August, led by a contraction in electric power activity as nuclear stations in Ontario and New Brunswick underwent maintenance outages.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Between approximately 2.5 billion and 2.0 billion years ago, atmospheric oxygen levels underwent major increases.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026
Several years ago, stories proliferated of performers losing health insurance as they contended with heart problems or underwent cancer treatment, and in recent months, actors have again aired concerns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Under George W. Bush, DHS underwent a reorganization to more effectively combat terrorism and respond to disasters like Hurricane Katrina.
From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2026
When we reached St. Michael’s, we underwent a sort of examination.
From "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" by Frederick Douglass
Late last year, Megaspeed said it had undergone several government reviews into allegations of chip diversions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
The vaccine is expected to be approved next year, and analysts are closely monitoring studies evaluating intismeran in patients with renal-cell carcinoma and muscle-invasive bladder cancer who have undergone surgery.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
She publicly announced the diagnosis in May, saying in a social media post that she had undergone surgery and was working on a treatment plan with her medical team.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
These galaxies have undergone relatively little chemical evolution, making them valuable cosmic "time capsules" that preserve clues about the Universe's early composition.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026
"My mother had just undergone a very serious surgery, my car was not paid for, the doctor had to be paid, and my father was occasionally sick," Haupt said.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
Thomas Markle had been in the Philippines in December 2025, undergoing hospital treatment, when Meghan wrote to him to end all contact.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
Edge rusher Myles Garrett, the reigning NFL defensive player of the year, has not played since undergoing knee surgery after the season-opening defeat by the 49ers in Australia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
Nairobi is undergoing a rapid construction boom, with high-rise buildings appearing all over the city, particularly in Eastleigh which is known for its busy market areas and as a hub for the Somali community.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
Not only are those misdiagnosed undergoing treatment for a condition they don’t have, they are also delayed in getting a proper diagnosis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
Livermore was undergoing its transition from the MTA project to its role as the second bomb laboratory.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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