Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Definition: Underneath |
UnderneathAdverb1. On he lower or downward side; "a chest of drawers all scratched underneath". 2. Lower down on the page; "diagrams with figures underneath". 3. Beneath by way of support; "a house with a good foundation underneath". 4. Under or below an object or a surface; "we could see the original painting underneath". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "underneath" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1050. (references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Lowness | Adverb: under; beneath, underneath; below; downwards; adown, at the foot of; under foot, under ground; down stairs, below stairs; at a low ebb; below par. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | It's not a pretty face, I grant you, but underneath its flabby exterior is an enormous lack of character (American in Paris, An; writing credit: Alan Jay Lerner) I haven't got anything on underneath it. (Casanova's Big Night; writing credit: Aubrey Wisberg; Hal Kanter) That she was just fluffing your pillows and just happened to slip underneath you (Passions; writing credit: Jean Chapot; Nelly Kaplan) That's because I've never had anything this responsive underneath me. (L.A. Law; writing credit: Joëlle Goron; Katherine Pancol) There's a high voltage current running underneath the tower (Final Fantasy VII; writing credit: Kouze Ide; Kazushige Nojima) | |
Lyrics | I've seen right through and underneath (Underneath It All; performing artist: No Doubt) Why let your shoulders bend underneath this burden when my back is sturdy and strong (Trouble Me; performing artist: 10,000 Maniacs) But I know you ain't wearin' nothin' underneath that (Crazy; performing artist: Aerosmith) I heard somebody call your name from underneath our willow (BRILLIANT DISGUISE; performing artist: Bruce Springsteen) She's nothing but porcelain underneath her skin (American Girls; performing artist: Counting Crows) | |
Clever | When God allows a burden to be put upon you, He will put His arms underneath you to help you carry it. (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | The Other Side of the Underneath (1972) Underneath the Arches (1937) Secrets Underneath (2000) Gilligan's Island: Underneath the Grass Skirt (1999) Underneath (1995) | |
Song Titles | Underneath It All (performing artist: No Doubt) Underneath Your Clothes (performing artist: Shakira) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Theater & Movies | |
Music |
|
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
![]() | View of the concrete lower culvert that passes underneath Sea View Street. This lower pipe was installed at an invert below the adjacent creek bottoms and has partly filled in with sediment and debris. Credit: NOAA Restoration Center. | ![]() | Wall cloud - Towering cumulus with rain-free base. A wall cloud, a lowering of the cloud base underneath main storm updraft, forms in this thunderstorm. Tornadoes can form out ot the wall clouds. Credit: National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL). |
![]() | Staff Sgt. Todd Kenny helps position an AGM-65 Maverick missile underneath the wing of an A-10 Thunderbolt II during Operation Allied Force. (P.; photo by Senior Airman Stan Parker).. | ![]() | A head-up display can be a lifesaving tool in difficult flying environments. Students at the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School are evaluating raster-capable HUDs that show a television-like image underneath basic HUD symbology. (Courtesy photo). |
![]() | View through arch of east tower. Photograph by Jack E. Boucher, March 1977. (Reproduction Number: HAER WVA,35-WHEEL,35-44) The Wheeling Suspension Bridge has been called "the father of American suspension bridges." Designed in 1849 by Charles Ellett as part of the National Road (later U.S. 40), the bridge spans a distance of 1,010 feet across the Ohio River so as to allow boats to pass underneath it. The bridge has been altered several times by noted engineers including Ellett's partner, William McComas, and William Hildenbrand. It remains the oldest vehicular suspension bridge in the world that is still in use. Credit: Library of Congress. | ![]() | Don't get underneath! Odd view of "Rockefeller Church" as largest bell is raised up to famous carillon. Credit: Library of Congress. |
![]() | Carnival employee sleeping in hammock underneath wagon. Lasses-White show. Sikeston, Missouri. Credit: Library of Congress. | ![]() | The old Kenyon's johnnycake flour mill in Usquepaugh is run by water power. The waterwheel is underneath the mill and by means of these two gears its power is brought into the mill. Credit: Library of Congress. |
![]() | Japanese cherry blossoms. Truck underneath blooming cherry tree. Credit: Library of Congress. | ![]() | John Bray, standing with hands raised underneath a bridge, Amelia, Louisiana. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
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| "Sunshiney day" by Craig Stump Commentary: "At a friend's party in the park recently, and they brought these fake flowers. They hung them in the tree and they blew gently in the breeeze - VERY relaxing lying underneath them in the sun." | "Pandanus Palm" by Matt Brockie Commentary: "Pandanus Palm Tree looking from underneath." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Emily Dickinson | Surgeons must be very careful. When they take the knife!, underneath their fine incisions, stirs the Culprit -- Life! |
Euripides | People that seem so glorious are all show; underneath they are like everyone else. |
George F. Baer | Persecution in intellectual countries produces a superficial conformity, but also underneath an intense, incessant, implacable doubt. |
Jonathan Swift | Where I am not understood, it shall be concluded that something very useful and profound is couched underneath. |
Matt Groening | Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath. At night, the ice weasels come. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
A Christmas Carol | Dickens, Charles | Here, then, the wretched man whose name he had now to learn, lay underneath the ground |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | There was something underneath which resembled a letter |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | When he had written this title and drawn an ornamental line underneath he fell into a daydream and began to draw diagrams on the cover of the book |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | But underneath, his appetites swelled into pressures until they broke through |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | OHS develops when fragile, abnormal blood vessels grow underneath the retina. (references) | |
Histo spots have been associated with the growth of the abnormal blood vessels underneath the retina. (references) | ||
In PRK, the top layer of the cornea, called the epithelium, is scraped away to expose the stromal layer underneath. (references) | ||
Business | Underneath the DETR are autonomous departments, dealing with transport, environmental affairs, and local government. (references) | |
Human Rights | India | Yunus told the court, "My head was put underneath water, and I was assaulted with whips and lathis (canes). (references) |
Trade | Israel | If the external layer is transparent the marking should be done underneath that layer, provided it is still clear and legible. (references) |
Argentina | This member of the firm is to be identified by the typing of the full name directly underneath the signature, followed by the typing of his title or position in the firm. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 1963-1969 | Underneath the clamor of building and the rush of our day's pursuits, we are believers in justice and liberty and union, and in our own Union. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Underneath" is generally used as a preposition (except "of") -- approximately 48.52% of the time. "Underneath" is used about 1,888 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Preposition (except "of") | 48.52% | 916 | 7,837 |
| Adverb (general) | 48.04% | 907 | 7,899 |
| Noun (singular) | 3.44% | 65 | 41,645 |
| Total | 100.00% | 1,888 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "underneath": blow from underneath ♦ from underneath ♦ from underneath the table ♦ hold underneath ♦ pass underneath ♦ push underneath ♦ put on underneath ♦ put underneath ♦ the ones underneath ♦ tie underneath ♦ underneath it ♦ wash underneath. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "underneath": world-seen-from-just-underneath. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "underneath"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | onderaan (below, downstairs), onder (below, beneath, under), ondertoe (down), benede (below, downstairs), afwaarts (down). (various references) | |
Albanian | poshtë (below, beneath, down, downstairs, infra, low, under), përfund, nën (below, beneath, infra, under). (various references) | |
Arabic | في الأسفل, تحت (below, beneath, down, under). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | отдолу на, отдолу (below, beneath, from below, sub-, under, underfoot), по-долу (below, beneath, hereinafter, infra, thereinafter, thereunder, under), под (below, beneath, floor, ground, in, infra, on, to, under), долу (at the bottom, below, beneath, down, downstairs, infra, under). (various references) | |
Catalan | a baix (below, downstairs). (various references) | |
Chinese | 在下面 , 下面 (Below, Beneath, under, underside), 下 (below, down, latter, lower, next, second, to decline, to go down, under). (various references) | |
Czech | vespod (beneath), spodní strana, spodek (bottom, Jack, knave, substructure), pod (below, beneath, under), dospod, dole (below, down, downstairs, under), dolù (down, downward, downwards, under). (various references) | |
Danish | derunder (below, downstairs). (various references) | |
Dutch | onder (among, below, beneath, between, downstairs, during, for, under, whereas, while, whilst), daarbeneden (below, downstairs), beneden (below, beneath, downstairs, under). (various references) | |
Esperanto | suben (down), sube (below), sub (below, beneath, under), malsupre (below, downstairs). (various references) | |
Faeroese | undir (below, beneath, under), niðri (below, downstairs). (various references) | |
Farsi | پاءینی (Beneath), پاءین (Below, Beneath, Bottom, Low, Nether), زیرین (Beneath, Under, Underside), اززیر (Beneath), درزیر (Below, Beneath, Nether, Under). (various references) | |
Finnish | alle (below, under), alla (below, beneath, under). (various references) | |
French | dessous (underside, underthings, underwear, unmentionables), sous (under). (various references) | |
Frisian | del (down), ûnder (below, beneath, under). (various references) | |
German | unterhalb (below, beneath, downstream, downstream from, neath, under), unter (among, amongst, below, beneath, between, down below, down under, hypo, Neath, nether, sub, under), unten (at the bottom of, bellow, below, beneath, down, down below, down here, down south, down there, downrightrechts, downstairs, downstream, lowly, under, underfoot). (various references) | |
Greek | κάτω από (below, beneath, under), υποκάτω (beneath, under), από κάτω (below, beneath, under). (various references) | |
Hebrew | מתחת ל- (below, beneath, under), מטה (bed, below, beneath, bier, couch, down, downward, litter, sleeper, under). (various references) | |
Hungarian | alul (below, beneath, bottom, downstairs, under, underfoot), alá (below, beneath, infra, to torment, under). (various references) | |
Indonesian | tatakan (base of a tray, something underneath, underlayer). (various references) | |
Irish | thíos (below, down, downstairs), taobh thíos de (below, beneath, under), laistíos (below, downstairs), faoi bhun (below, beneath, under), faoi (about, about it, against, below, beneath, in exchange for, opposed to, opposite, under, upon). (various references) | |
Italian | sotto (among, behind, below, beneath, bottom, down, downstairs, lower, under), giú (below), dabbasso (below). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 下敷き (crushed beneath, desk pad, mat, pinned under, something lying underneath), 下敷 (crushed beneath, desk pad, mat, pinned under, something lying underneath). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | したじき (crushed beneath, desk pad, mat, pinned under, something lying underneath). (various references) | |
Korean | 밑에. (various references) | |
Manx | s'inshley (downmost, lowest, rock bottom, undermost), cheu heese, bun (base, basis, bottom, derivation, details, dope, end, explanation, eye of storm, foot, foundation, heart, interpretation, news, origin, original, prime, principle, raw material, root, root cause, sole, source, stem, stool, stump). (various references) | |
Norwegian | ned (below, down, downstairs). (various references) | |
Papiamen | den (a, below, beneath, in, inside, into, on, per, under, within), bou di (below, beneath, under), abou di (below, beneath, under), abou (below, down, downstairs, low). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | erneathunday.(various references) | |
Polish | pod spodem (below), pod (below, beneath, under), na spodzie (below). (various references) | |
Portuguese | abaixo (below, beneath, down, downhill, downstairs, downwards, thereunder). (various references) | |
Romanian | sub (at, below, beneath, in, under). (various references) | |
Russian | внизу (adown, at the bottom, at the bottom of, below, downstairs, under), вниз (down, downstairs, downwards). (various references) | |
Scottish | fo (at the foot of, below, beneath, under). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | pod (below, beneath, floor, ground, on, sub, under), odozdo (from under), na donjoj strani, ispod (below, beneath, down below, infra, sub, under), dole (below, down, downstairs, off, under). (various references) | |
Spanish | debajo de (below, beneath, under), abajo (alow, below, beneath, down, downstairs, under), en el fondo (at bottom, at the far end, below, downstairs, privately, really, ultimately), debajo (below, beneath, under). (various references) | |
Sranan | ondro (below, beneath, hundred, one hundred, under). (various references) | |
Swahili | chini (below, downstairs). (various references) | |
Swedish | under (below, beneath, during, for, in, into, marvel, miracle, over, under, unto, wonder), nedanför (below, beneath, downwards, under), inunder (under). (various references) | |
Tagalog | sa ilálim (below, beneath, under), sa ibabà (below, downstairs). (various references) | |
Turkish | altından (under), altında (below, below smb., beneath, down, down below, Neath, sub, under), altına (beneath, down, down below, down there, sub, under), alt (base, bottom, buttom, inferior, infra, infra-, lower, lower part, Nether, sub-, subordinate, under, underside). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | унизу (alow, below, beneath, down, downstairs, under), секретний (back room, classified, confidential, hole-and-corner, hush hush, private, privy, secret, sensitive, subterraneous, underhand), нижче (below, beneath, hereafter, nethermore), нижній (base, bottom, downmost, downstairs, lower, nethermore, under), нижня частина (downstairs, underside), знизу, під (bakestone, below, on, under), прихований (arcane, blind, bosomed, close, closet, concealed, covert, cryptic, delitescent, furtive, glossy, hideaway, latent, obscure, obumbrate, occulted, privy, secret, stealthy, ulterior, veiled). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | phần dưới, mặt dưới (underside), bên dưới. (various references) | |
Zulu | phansi kwa- (below, beneath, under), phansi (below, downstairs). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | inferam, inferas, inferi, inferior, inferiora, inferiorem, inferiores, inferiori, inferioribus, inferioris, inferis, inferne, inferni, infero, inferorum, inferos, inferus, infra, subter supter. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Exodus Chapter 39, Verse 20 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Kai taV difqeraV dermata kriwn hruqrodanwmena kai ta kalummata dermata uakinqina kai twn loipwn ta epikalummata |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Fecerunt quoque tunicam superumeralis totam hyacinthinam |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | And thei maden the coope coote, al iacynctyne; and a hode in the ouerest parti, |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | And they made yet two other golde rynges, ad put them on the .ij. sydes of the Ephod, beneth on the fore syde of it: eue where the sydes goo together, aboue apon the brodrynge of the Ephod, |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | And they made two other golden rings, and put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart of it, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | And they made two other golden rings, and put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, towards the forepart of it, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod: |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | And two other gold rings were put on the front of the ephod, over the arm-holes, at the join, and over the worked band. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Exodus Chapter 39, Verse 20 |
| Cebuano | Ug nagbuhat sila ug duruha ka singsing nga bulawan, ug gibutang nila sa duruha ka patay-tay sa ephod, sa ilalum nga dapit sa atubangan, sa unahan sa iyang tinakdoan sa ibabaw sa bakus sa ephod. |
| Croatian | Još naprave dva zlatna kolutiæa te ih prièvrste za donji, prednji kraj poramenice opleæka, pokraj mjesta gdje se veže, povrh tkanice opleæka. |
| Danish | Og de lavede endnu to Guldringe og fæstede dem på Efodens to Skulderstykker forneden på Forsiden, hvor den var hæftet sammen med Skulderstykkerne, oven over Efodens Bælte; |
| Dutch | Nog maakten zij twee gouden ringen, die zij zetten aan de twee schouderbanden van den efod, beneden, aan deszelfs voorste zijde, tegenover zijn andere voege, boven den kunstelijken riem des efods. |
| Finnish | Ja vieläkin tehtiin kaksi kultarengasta, ja ne kiinnitettiin kasukan molempiin olkakappaleihin, niiden alareunaan, etupuolelle, sauman kohdalle, kasukan vyön yläpuolelle. |
| French | On fit deux autres anneaux d`or, que l`on mit au bas des deux épaulettes de l`éphod, sur le devant, près de la jointure, au-dessus de la ceinture de l`éphod. |
| German | Und sie machten zwei andere goldene Ringe, die taten sie unten an die zwei Schulterstücke vorn am Leibrock, wo er zusammengeht, oben über dem Gurt des Leibrocks, |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Sesudah itu dibuat dua gelang emas yang dipasang di bagian depan kedua tali bahu efod, dekat sambungan jahitannya agak ke bawah, di atas ikat pinggang dari tenunan halus. |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Dan diperbuatkannya dua bentuk cincin pula yang dikenakannya kepada kedua tampal bahu efod itu di sebelah bawahnya arah ke hadapan pada tempat persambungannya, di atas sandang efod yang perbuatan kepandaian. |
| Italian | Fecero due altri anelli d'oro e li posero sulle due spalline dell'efod in basso, sul suo lato anteriore, in vicinanza del punto di attacco, al di sopra della cintura dell'efod. |
| Maori | I hanga ano etahi atu mowhiti koura e rua, a whakanohoia ana ki nga pokohiwi e rua o te epora, ki te taha ki raro, ki te taha ki mua, ki te ritenga o tona hononga ake, ki runga ake o te whitiki whakapaipai o te epora. |
| Norwegian | Og de gjorde ennu to gullringer og satte dem på livkjortelens to skulderstykker nedentil på fremsiden, der hvor den festes sammen, ovenfor livkjortelens belte. |
| Portuguese | Fizeram mais duas argolas de ouro, que puseram nas duas ombreiras do éfode, debaixo, na parte dianteira dele, junto à sua costura, acima do cinto de obra esmerada do éfode. |
| Rumanian | Apoi au fqcut alte douq verigi de aur, pe cari le-au pus la cei doi umqrari ai efodului, jos, pe partea dinainte a lui, tocmai acolo unde se kmpreunq efodul cu umqrarii, deasupra brkului efodului. |
| Russian | Й ЕЭЕ УДЕМБМЙ ДЧБ ЛПМШГБ ЪПМПФЩИ Й РТЙЛТЕРЙМЙ ЙИ Л ДЧХН ОБТБНОЙЛБН ЕЖПДБ УОЙЪХ, У МЙГЕЧПК УФПТПОЩ ЕЗП, Х УПЕДЙОЕОЙС ЕЗП ОБД РПСУПН ЕЖПДБ; |
| Swedish | Och ytterligare gjorde man två ringar av guld och fäste dem vid efodens båda axelstycken, nedtill på dess framsida, där den fästes ihop, ovanför efodens skärp. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Misspellings | |
"Underneath" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: underneat, underneth. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "underneath" (pronounced u'ndernē"th) |
| 3 | -n ē" th | beneath. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-d-e-e-h-n-n-r-t-u" | |
-1 letter: unearthed. | |
-2 letters: adherent, denature, neatherd, underate, undereat, unearned, unheated, unrented, unthread, urethane. | |
-3 letters: daunter, denture, earthed, earthen, haunted, haunter, hearted, hearten, hennaed, natured, retuned, tenured, thunder, unearth, uneaten, unheard, unrated, untread, urethan. | |
-4 letters: adhere, aether, anteed, anther, ardent, dearth, derate, dhurna, duenna, dunner, earned, endear, endure, ennead, entera, enured, ethane, hanted, harden, hatred, header. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-d-e-e-h-n-n-r-t-u" | |
+4 letters: counterchanged. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Modern 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Images: Digital Art 8. Quotations: Familiar | 9. Quotations: Fiction 10. Quotations: Non-fiction 11. Quotations: Speeches 12. Usage Frequency | 13. Expressions 14. Expressions: Internet 15. Translations: Modern 16. Translations: Ancient | 17. Bible Trace 18. Derivations 19. Rhymes 20. Anagrams | 21. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.