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Synonyms

underage

1 American  
[uhn-der-eyj] / ˌʌn dərˈeɪdʒ /

adjective

  1. lacking the required age, especially that of legal maturity.

underage 2 American  
[uhn-der-ij] / ˈʌn dər ɪdʒ /

noun

  1. shortage; deficiency in amount.

underage British  
/ ˌʌndərˈeɪdʒ /

adjective

  1. below the required or standard age, esp below the legal age for voting or drinking

"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

Etymology

Origin of underage1

First recorded in 1585–95; under- + age

Origin of underage2

First recorded in 1605–15; under- + -age

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.

Sworn Testimony: Mark Zuckerberg faced pointed questions about his company’s underage users and content moderation efforts at a landmark Los Angeles trial Wednesday.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 22, 2026

Platforms including Snapchat, Meta, TikTok and YouTube must stop underage users from holding accounts under the legislation, which came into effect on December 10.

From Barron's • Feb. 2, 2026

In a statement on Monday, issued before the move by QUB, a spokesperson for Mitchell said he never met, spoken to or had any contact with Giuffre or any underage women.

From BBC • Feb. 2, 2026

A spokesperson for Trading Standards said it was working with public health teams to tackle "the rise in underage vaping in Nottingham".

From BBC • Jan. 4, 2026

“That’s a nice offer, kiddo, but I’m pretty sure Ship would fire me if I put one of the underage tenants to work.”

From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly

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.