underhand

[ uhn-der-hand ]

/ ˈʌn dərˌhænd /

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adjective

not open and aboveboard; secret and crafty or dishonorable: an underhand deal with the chief of police.

executed with the hand below the level of the shoulder and the palm turned upward and forward: an underhand delivery of a ball.

adverb

with the hand below the level of the shoulder and the palm turned upward and forward: to bowl underhand.

secretly; stealthily; slyly.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of underhand

before 900; 1530–40 for def 1; Middle English under hande (adv.) under rule, Old English underhand. See under-, hand

SYNONYMS FOR underhand

1 stealthy, sly, clandestine, surreptitious.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR underhand ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for underhand

A smart man, but he did some underhand work, and he was asked to resign.
The Motor Boys After a Fortune|Clarence Young
Still, he had an uncomfortable sensation, for he felt he was an underhand sneak, and that Mary had found him out; and so she had.
The Catholic World. Volume III; Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.|E. Rameur
Some underhand work was done, and Ripley, so he said, restrained old Tom from putting a bullet into a certain miscreant.
The Land of Nome|Lanier McKee
By degrees, underhand and hidden as it might be, war between the Duchess and the Cardinal declared itself unmistakably.
Political Women (Vol. 1 of 2)|Sutherland Menzies

It gives facilities for the exercise of underhand and even corrupt influence, and encourages "log rolling."
Government in the United States|James Wilford Garner

British Dictionary definitions for underhand

underhand

/ (ˈʌndəˌhænd) /

adjective Also: underhanded

clandestine, deceptive, or secretive

sport another word for underarm

adverb

in an underhand manner or style

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

Word Origin and History for underhand

underhand

adv.

Old English under hand "in subjection," from under + hand. Sense of "secret, stealthy, surreptitious" first recorded 1530s. For sense development, cf. Middle Dutch onderhanden "by degrees, slowly," Dutch onderhandsch "secret, private." The adjective is attested from 1540s.