undercount

American

[uhn-der-kount, uhn-der-kount] / ˌʌn dərˈkaʊnt, ˈʌn dərˌkaʊnt /

verb (used with object)

to count less than the full number or amount of.

The mayor claimed the census had undercounted the city's population.

noun

a count or total that is less than the actual number or amount.

Etymology

Origin of undercount

First recorded in 1950–55; under- + count ¹

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.

Nearly everyone agrees that these numbers are probably an undercount.

From Slate • Jun. 9, 2026

First, the personal saving rate is notorious for being revised up because the government tends to undercount incomes in real time...

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

The IOM considers them an undercount because there are no official statistics.

From BBC • May 21, 2026

That number is certainly an undercount, as not all immigrants report wrongdoing for fear of deportation, and not every report included dollar amounts.

From Salon • May 2, 2026

Do the figures that get into the "all other" deposits from those connected with the Stock Exchange undercount sales made there?

From The Value of Money by Anderson, Benjamin M.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023