underfunded
Britishadjective
Explanation
Anything that's underfunded doesn't have enough money. An underfunded college student can't afford textbooks — or pizza. When a group or organization is funded, it's provided with the money, or funds it needs to function properly. Being underfunded means having an insufficient amount of cash on hand. An underfunded school doesn't have enough money to pay its staff and teachers, and it might have to eliminate art and music classes. If your lemonade stand is underfunded and you can't afford cups, it's unlikely to be a successful business!
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.
It seems more likely that transferring substantial resources from the profit-making entity to the nonprofit would leave both underfunded and weakened.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026
The city is already running two such pilot programs, but under Bass they have remained underfunded, Huang said.
From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2026
Am I overfunded for retirement and underfunded for the next five years?
From MarketWatch • May 15, 2026
Because the program is 25% underfunded, Americans will either need to pay more or receive less than currently scheduled.
From Barron's • May 8, 2026
During much of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, private detective agencies had filled the vacuum left by decentralized, underfunded, incompetent, and corrupt sheriff and police departments.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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.
