underneath
Americanpreposition
-
below the surface or level of; directly or vertically beneath; at or on the bottom of.
-
under the control of; in a lower position in a hierarchy of authority.
Underneath the department heads are the junior executives.
-
hidden, disguised, or misrepresented, as by a false appearance or pretense.
Underneath his bluster is a timid nature.
adverb
adjective
noun
preposition
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of underneath
before 900; Middle English undernethe, Old English underneothan. See under, beneath
Vocabulary lists containing underneath
"Eleven"
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"Eleven," Vocabulary from the short story
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: under-
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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.
To do so, Tesla engineering VP Lars Moravy said the Roadster uses “a fan suction system” underneath to increase grip and downforce.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Comments streamed in underneath urging the player to keep his head up.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
“But the market underneath the hood has still been affected by interest rates.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
A multinational study found that people taking these drugs were more than four times as likely to report nail detachment, a condition in which the nail separates from the skin underneath it.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026
I grabbed his sleeve, feeling the long bones of his arm underneath.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
