underdraw

American  

[uhn-der-draw] / ˌʌn dərˈdrɔ /

verb (used with object)

underdrew, underdrawn, underdrawing

1. to line the underside of (a structure, as a floor) with plasterwork, boarding, or the like.

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Etymology

Origin of underdraw

First recorded in 1790–1800; under- + draw

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

underdrawing underdrawn

They lack underdrawing, and no preliminary sketches survive.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

To guide her strokes, she constantly looked down at her cellphone screen, following Vasari’s preparatory underdrawing, which had been obtained by electronic scans.

From New York Times ● Nov. 3, 2016

In fact, Smith had already been considering the idea of fresco as a conceptual framework for a book; the notion of the underdrawing of the image being a presence beneath the surface, unseen yet present.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 5, 2015

Viewers may notice that the penciled underdrawing is exposed here and there, and that the bands of gold fleurs-de-lis near the bottom edge of the cans are irregularly stamped, not painted.

From New York Times ● May 7, 2015

That technique revealed what lies beneath the paint: the underdrawing, the first thoughts of the painter as the work was planned.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 15, 2010

Palmer’s Em, meanwhile, is a ball of energy and hustle and is equally compelling, though, again, slightly underdrawn.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 20, 2022

Veronica Falcón plays Perry’s lover, Lupe, a tough, business-minded aviator and one of several intriguing but underdrawn female characters.

From New York Times ● Jun. 18, 2020

The possibilities are intriguing, but the characters are underdrawn, and the pacing lags.

From New York Times ● Aug. 3, 2017

The character felt underdrawn to me, too willing to be a victim.

From The New Yorker ● Aug. 24, 2015

The hall is now divided into two rooms, lined with good Jacobean panelling, and its fifteenth-century roof underdrawn by plaster ceilings.

From Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Gloucester [2nd ed.] A Description of Its Fabric and A Brief History of the Espicopal See by Massé, H. J. L. J. (Henri Jean Louis Joseph)