under-the-table

[ uhn-der-thuh-tey-buhl ]

/ ˈʌn dər ðəˈteɪ bəl /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for under-the-table on Thesaurus.com

adjective

transacted in secret or in an underhanded manner.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON AFFECT VS. EFFECT!

In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”

Question 1 of 7

The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

affect

effect

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of under-the-table

First recorded in 1945–50

Words nearby under-the-table

under the hammer, under the impression, under the influence, under the knife, under the sun, under-the-table, under the weather, under the wire, underthings, underthroating, underthrust

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use under-the-table in a sentence

“The institution of marraige [sic] is under attack in our society and it needs to be strengthened,” Bush wrote.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
France 24 is providing live, round-the-clock coverage of both scenes as they progress.
LIVE Coverage of the Paris Terror Attacks||January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It is grandstanding for a right rarely protected unless under immediate attack.
Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead|Luke O’Neil|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Sands was involved in a scandalous-for-the-time romance with the carpenter and there were rumors she was pregnant with his child.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Three on-the-record stories from a family: a mother and her daughters who came from Phoenix.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003|Vicky Ward|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Under the one-sixth they appear as slender, highly refractive fibers with double contour and, often, curled or split ends.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The Pontellier and Ratignolle compartments adjoined one another under the same roof.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
The Majesty on high has a colony and a people on earth, which otherwise is under the supremacy of the Evil One.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway
Old Mrs. Wurzel and the buxom but not too well-favoured heiress of the house of Grains were at the head of the table.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
A small book, bound in full purple calf, lay half hidden in a nest of fine tissue paper on the dressing-table.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett

British Dictionary definitions for under-the-table

under the table

adjective

(under-the-table when prenominal) done illicitly and secretly

slang drunk

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with under-the-table

under the table

In secret, as in They paid her under the table so as to avoid taxes. This term alludes to money being passed under a table in some shady transaction, such as a bribe. [Mid-1900s] Also see under the counter.