underachieve
Americanverb (used without object)
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to perform, especially academically, below the potential indicated by tests of one's mental ability or aptitude.
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to perform below expectations or achieve less than expected, especially by others.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of underachieve
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:
There has been particular concern that Protestant males from low-income backgrounds underachieve at school.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2024
He took over a team led by guards Lewis, John Petty and Herbert Jones that seemed to underachieve last season.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 24, 2019
There is zero margin for Brown to underachieve, and anything short of a hard-fought loss to Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference finals should be viewed as a grave disappointment.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 23, 2019
The days of watching the Bruins underachieve are likely dwindling with Chip Kelly now at UCLA.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 13, 2017
Despite huge investments in the nation’s professional men’s league and support for the sport that borders on fanatical, China continues to underachieve on the international stage.
From Slate ● Dec. 12, 2014
“I don’t think we underachieved last year and this year is still going,” Roberts said in Atlanta on Monday before the team’s loss to the Dream.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Three-time winners Saracens have underachieved in Europe over the past few seasons and found themselves needing points from their final two tricky pool games.
From BBC ● Jan. 11, 2026
The Mariners felt like they underachieved last season and still were right there till the final days of the season.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 22, 2024
The loss dropped the Chargers to 5-8 and likely ended whatever limited playoff chances remained for a team that has vastly underachieved this season, leading to wide-spread speculation of sweeping changes in the coming months.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2023
Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio has overseen a unit that has underachieved this year, making him a poor fit for the role of interim coach.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 20, 2023
Mark: Did you think that they'd been underachieving as a group?
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026
As many England fans would testify, Gareth Southgate took on an England team that was seen as underachieving, and restored a degree of national pride to the game.
From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2025
The Angels made the first trade of the offseason Thursday, acquiring slugger Jorge Soler for underachieving starting pitcher Griffin Canning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2024
But it is a testament to the uneven and underachieving history of the Padres that four people with ties to the team could not agree when “Beat L.A.” became a big deal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2024
It was like this dragon’s hoard of worthless brass that not even Smaug’s underachieving brother would want—and with real estate being so expensive in the city, the cost of storing them was probably astronomical.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
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.
