underwood

American  

[uhn-der-wood] / ˈʌn dərˌwʊd /

noun

1. woody shrubs or small trees growing among taller trees.

2. a clump or stretch of such growth.

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Underwood ¹ British  

/ ˈʌndəˌwʊd /

noun

1. Rory. born 1963, English Rugby Union player: played 85 times for England (1984–96) and scored 49 tries (an England record)

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underwood ² British  

/ ˈʌndəˌwʊd /

noun

1. a less common word for undergrowth

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Other Word Forms

• underwooded adjective

Etymology

Origin of underwood

First recorded in 1275–1325, underwood is from the Middle English word underwode. See under-, wood ¹

Example Sentences

"Carrie underwood being an antimasker is just sad," wrote another.

From Fox News • Aug. 18, 2021

“The natural underwood has been grubbed up,” Olmsted wrote at the time, “the trees, to a height of 10 to 15 feet, trimmed to bare poles.”

From New York Times • Jul. 13, 2016

All about the pool was dense and tangled underwood, the branches of which dipped here and there into the water.

From Treasure of Kings Being the Story of the Discovery of the \"Big Fish,\" or the Quest of the Greater Treasure of the Incas of Peru. by Gilson, Charles

The underwood was everywhere the papaw tree, and on the skirts of the forest the yellow flowering Cassia Marylandica, with ripe seed.

From Travels in the Interior of North America, Part I, (Being Chapters I-XV of the London Edition, 1843) Early Western Travels, 1748-1846, Volume XXII by Maximilian, Alexander Philipp

We were travelling in a grove of trees, with a thick underwood, except just where a path was cut wide enough for a single mule to pass.

From March to Magdala by Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)

Related Words

• scrub
• thicket