underworld
Americannoun
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underworlds
plural
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the criminal element of human society.
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the imagined abode of departed souls or spirits; Hades.
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a region below the surface, as of the earth or a body of water.
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the opposite side of the earth; the antipodes.
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Archaic. the earth.
noun
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criminals and their associates considered collectively
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( as modifier )
underworld connections
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the regions below the earth's surface regarded as the abode of the dead; Hades
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of underworld
Vocabulary lists containing underworld
Reading: Literature - Mythology - Introductory
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Reading: Literature - Mythology - Middle School
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Ancient Greece: Mythology and Literature - Middle School
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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.
See Examples For:
The post-apocalyptic, jazzy New Orleans-style “Hadestown,” written by Anaïs Mitchell, is a mythical love story that follows young lovers Orpheus and Eurydice and the rulers of the underworld, Hades and Persephone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
He returns home in beggar’s clothes with a plan to pay penance to the scores of souls he unjustly sent to the underworld.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
Capp notes, "Even in London's seedy underworld, a hat felt essential."
From Science Daily ● May 7, 2026
Oscar Balmen, a journalist and analyst specializing in crime and security in Mexico, said García Harfuch’s heroic image has even begun to shift underworld culture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026
High honor came to him in that part of Krete for wealth and ease, and sons born for renown, before the death-bearing Keres drew him down to the underworld.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
“This latest action marks a significant escalation in the partnership between the cyber underworlds of these two nations,” Chainalysis said on its blog.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 18, 2023
Globally, assorted gods have patrolled assorted underworlds for millennia, with death as their gloomy guard duty.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2022
The “Uncut Gems” creators, Josh and Benny Safdie, are known for their merciless filmmaking style, made up of seedy underworlds and populated with first-time actors cast off the street.
From New York Times ● Nov. 27, 2019
Ancient heroes who wished to grasp the truth of things had to pass through underworlds, or dwell in caves; sometimes, like Oedipus, they could see clearly only once they had been blinded.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 15, 2018
Besides these two there were innumerable other interesting glimpses into the life of this meeting-place for the half-and underworlds.
From The Dream Doctor by Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve
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.
