underpay
Americanverb (used with object)
-
underpays,
present (3rd person singular)
-
underpaid,
past participle, past
-
underpaying
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
underpaysimple
-
underpayssimple
-
have underpaidperfect
-
has underpaidperfect
-
am underpayingprogressive
-
are underpayingprogressive
-
is underpayingprogressive
-
have been underpayingperfect progressive
-
has been underpayingperfect progressive
Past
-
underpaidsimple
-
had underpaidperfect
-
was underpayingprogressive
-
were underpayingprogressive
-
had been underpayingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of underpay
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:
Chair of the agency's advisory board, Matthew Taylor, said naming employers which underpay staff was an important reminder that "paying the minimum wage is not optional - it is the law".
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Do they own shares in companies that underpay their workers?
From MarketWatch ● May 15, 2026
Musk’s 11-day delay in disclosure allowed him to underpay for Twitter stock by at least $150 million.
From Barron's ● May 4, 2026
He also proposes expanding guest worker programs and “shifting accountability” from workers to corporations that underpay immigrant laborers.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
Clothing here, as elsewhere, is synonymous with overwork and underpay, the wage being below subsistence point; and want of training is often found to be a portion of the reason for these conditions.
From Women Wage-Earners Their Past, Their Present, and Their Future by Helen Campbell
State Farm has said it strongly rejects allegations that it intentionally underpays or denies claims.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 2026
The actors union, echoing similar concerns from South Korean writers and production workers, says that Netflix has long profited from a system that underpays supporting actors, and that better compensation is long overdue.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2023
“They come to attorneys when their insurance company underpays their claim and they can’t rebuild.”
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 4, 2022
"Government should step up inspections to catch every employer that underpays staff."
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2021
Increasingly, even those relatively unscathed by the pandemic are voicing anticapitalist sentiment, critiquing an economy that underpays or ignores domestic labor.
From New York Times ● Feb. 17, 2021
They must also repay the missing £7.3m to the around 60,000 workers who were underpaid.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
On its coal-dust-begrimed surface, Eugene O’Neill’s 1922 play “The Hairy Ape” is a stark, dramatically propulsive illustration of how brutal, underpaid manual labor can dehumanize and destroy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
This could be good news if an AI model indicates you’re underpaid.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
County announced Monday that it had filed a lawsuit against State Farm General after hundreds of victims of last year’s devastating wildfires complained that their policy claims had been delayed, denied or underpaid.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
Since Francie never became friendly enough with the girls to be taken into their confidence, she had no way of knowing how grossly underpaid she was.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
Like other fast-fashion giants including H&M and Zara, Shein has faced allegations of underpaying and overworking textile workers at its factories.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
That’s a stark contrast with Shein, which has been accused of overworking and underpaying its workers and of being a massive industry polluter.
From MarketWatch ● May 19, 2026
The company acknowledges some claims were mishandled but rejected claims it engaged in a “general practice of mishandling or intentionally underpaying wildfire claims.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
“We reject any suggestion State Farm engaged in a general practice of mishandling or intentionally underpaying wildfire claims.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
I heard, indeed, of two American ladies who succeeded in underpaying their cabman; this was their belief resting upon his solemn declaration; but I myself failed in every attempt of the kind.
From London Films by William Dean Howells
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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.
