undercount

American  

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

verb (used with object)

1. to count less than the full number or amount of.

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

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noun

1. 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

That’s all but certain to be an undercount, and by a wide margin.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025

"These incidents include only those that HRL corroborated through either remote sensing, open source documentation, or a combination of both methods and are likely an undercount," its report said.

From BBC • Oct. 15, 2025

The land of a thousand hills, Rwanda’s called—an egregious undercount.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025

Those figures may be an undercount, because railroads don’t publicize all thefts, Lewis said.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2025

We shall, therefore, take up first the thesis that clearings outside New York do not undercount bank deposits outside New York nearly as much as Professor Fisher thinks.

From The Value of Money by Anderson, Benjamin M.