undergo
Americanverb (used with object)
-
undergoes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
underwent,
past
-
undergone,
past participle
-
undergoing
present participle
verb
Usage
What is another way to say undergo? To undergo something is to be subjected to or to endure that thing. How does undergo differ from experience? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
undergosimple
-
undergoessimple
-
have undergoneperfect
-
has undergoneperfect
-
am undergoingprogressive
-
are undergoingprogressive
-
is undergoingprogressive
-
have been undergoingperfect progressive
-
has been undergoingperfect progressive
Past
-
underwentsimple
-
had undergoneperfect
-
was undergoingprogressive
-
were undergoingprogressive
-
had been undergoingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of undergo
First recorded before 1000; Middle English undergon, Old English undergān. See under-, go 1
Explanation
Undergo means "endure until something is complete." You might undergo testing to check your hearing or undergo special training if you want to volunteer at a homeless shelter. The verb undergo means "experience" or "undertake." It is often used to describe medical procedures, such as, an injured quarterback who will undergo shoulder surgery. The word implies that it is something that has to happen so that a positive change occurs, like healing in the case of the quarterback or greater communication skills for a hot-tempered person who undergoes anger management training.
Vocabulary lists containing undergo
Word Generation Weekly - Series 3
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Red Umbrella
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
“On Civil Disobedience” by Mohandas K. Gandhi
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
The Chrysler Building, one of the most distinctive high-rises in Manhattan's skyline, will undergo a major renovation as part of a multi-million-dollar sale deal.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
I don’t mean to generalize, but as people age, it’s not unusual for them to undergo behavioral changes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Ashtiyeh, who is Palestinian, is conscious and under 24-hour supervision at a hospital in Nablus, where he will undergo X-rays, said his son, Zain Jaafar.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
It is the first to undergo clinical testing in Africa out of at least five vaccines under development.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
“My superiors act, of course, by order of the Thirty-Three.—You will now undergo interrogation.”
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
If a project could cause significant environmental harm that can’t easily be avoided, it undergoes a more detailed environmental review that examines its potential impacts and alternatives.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
The departures come as Weil undergoes a leadership transition, with Ramona Nee set to succeed executive partner Barry Wolf.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Ezri Konsa's imminent £51m departure to Arsenal is the latest high-profile exit at Villa Park this summer as Unai Emery's squad undergoes drastic change.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
For about a year, the patient undergoes treatment, which is a combination of the therapeutic vaccine, intismeran autogene, and Keytruda, the world’s top-selling cancer drug.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
The Hindu religion is the only one of the world’s great faiths dedicated to the idea that the Cosmos itself undergoes an immense, indeed an infinite, number of deaths and rebirths.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
The pitcher previously quit baseball, dropped out of community college, worked at a 7-Eleven and underwent Tommy John surgery in 2024.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Claire underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments to kill the malignant cells in his body, but the cancer returned again in 2017.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
By contrast, the lower surface underwent substantial deformation during the 'eating' process.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 5, 2026
He also said the attacker "underwent Islamist radical indoctrination".
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
Whereupon, he later wrote in a formal report of the interview, “Suspect underwent an intense visible reaction. He turned gray. His eyes twitched.”
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
For your next shoulder-season getaway, head east past the usual beach clubs of St. Tropez and Positano and you’ll reach Bodrum, a peninsula on Turkey’s Turquoise Coast that has undergone a remarkable transformation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
The term technically encompasses a broad category of products that includes FDA-approved drugs—ranging from insulin to Ozempic—but it has become shorthand for substances people are injecting that haven’t undergone approval from the FDA.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
The buildings have undergone a huge amount of work.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
For the record, Guy is a physically fit woman in her 60s who has not undergone cosmetic surgery, whom many women would kill to look like.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026
"My mother had just undergone a very serious surgery, my car was not paid for, the doctor had to be paid, and my father was occasionally sick," Haupt said.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
Those specimens suggest the species was undergoing gradual evolutionary changes as it adapted to shifting environmental and climatic conditions.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
What is sprayed into clouds may also be undergoing a major shift.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
She faced another personal negotiation on how forthcoming to be about undergoing IVF treatments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
He is currently undergoing questioning after having been interviewed earlier in the week in Saudi Arabia, where the flight he was co-piloting made an emergency landing Wednesday after the incident.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
She is undergoing tremendous sacrifice at this very moment in time.”
From "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech
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.
