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  • under-the-table
    under-the-table
    adjective
    transacted in secret or in an underhanded manner.
  • under the table
    under the table
    adjective
    (under-the-table when prenominal) done illicitly and secretly
Synonyms

under-the-table

American  
[uhn-der-thuh-tey-buhl] / ˈʌn dər ðəˈteɪ bəl /

adjective

  1. transacted in secret or in an underhanded manner.

under the table British  

adjective

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

  2. 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
under the table Idioms  

  1. 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.

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.

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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.

Under the table are a newspaper and a magazine.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

Under the table, his feet tapped out a steady drum roll as he talked.

From Washington Post • Nov. 20, 2019

Under the table was our Irish setter chomping away on mom’s delicious prepared turkey.

From New York Times • Nov. 14, 2017

Under the table, I picked at my thumb.

From The Guardian • Nov. 20, 2016

Under the table she swung her tiny, manicured feet, like a small child on a high chair.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

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.