underline
Americanverb (used with object)
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to mark with a line or lines underneath; underscore.
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to indicate the importance of; emphasize, as by stressing or italicizing.
noun
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Printing. a caption under an illustration.
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a line drawn under something; an underscore.
verb
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to put a line under
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to state forcibly; emphasize or reinforce
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of underline
Vocabulary lists containing underline
Language and Grammar - Introductory
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Language and Grammar - Middle School
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Reading: Informational - Introductory
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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.
The strategy rests on a paradox Warsh likes to underline.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday, seeking to underline their unshakeable alliance in the wake of Donald Trump's visit to the Asian superpower economy.
From Barron's • May 20, 2026
The point, it seems, is to underline the brevity and fragility of her characters’ lives, and of our own.
From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026
Josh Bivens, the chief economist at the Economic Policy Institute, pointed to Federal Reserve data to underline the discrepancy between the tariffs Americans have paid versus the refunds they are seeing this year.
From Salon • Apr. 15, 2026
Benefo uses his hands to underline his statement.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
