under|ex|posed /ʌ ndər I kspoʊ zd/ ADJ If a photograph is underexposed , it is darker than it should be because the film was not exposed to enough light.
under|fed /ʌ ndə r fe d/ ADJ People who are underfed do not get enough food to eat. □ Kate still looks pale and underfed. □ …ill-trained and underfed young soldiers.
under|fi|nanced /ʌ ndə r fa I nænst/ also under-financed ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] Underfinanced means the same as underfunded . □ From the beginning, the project was underfinanced.
under|foot /ʌ ndə r fʊ t/
1 ADV [ADV after v, n ADV ] You describe something as being underfoot when you are standing or walking on it. □ …a room, high and square with carpet underfoot and tapestries on the walls. □ It was still wet underfoot.
2 ADV [ADV after v] If you trample or crush something underfoot , you spoil or destroy it by stepping on it. □ …a mobile phone that has been crushed underfoot.
under|fund|ed /ʌ ndə r fʌ nd I d/ also under-funded ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] An organization or institution that is underfunded does not have enough money to spend, and so it cannot function properly. □ For years we have argued that the health service is underfunded. □ …underfunded pensions.
under|gar|ment /ʌ ndə r gɑː r mənt/ (undergarments ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] Undergarments are items of clothing that you wear next to your skin and under your other clothes. [OLD-FASHIONED ]
under|go /ʌ ndə r goʊ / (undergoes , undergoing , underwent , undergone ) VERB If you undergo something necessary or unpleasant, it happens to you. □ [V n] New recruits have been undergoing training in recent weeks. □ [V n] He underwent an agonising 48-hour wait for the results of tests.
under|grad /ʌ ndə r græd/ (undergrads ) N‑COUNT An undergrad is the same as an undergraduate . [INFORMAL ]
under|gradu|ate /ʌ ndə r græ dʒuət/ (undergraduates ) N‑COUNT [oft N n] An undergraduate is a student at a university or college who is studying for his or her first degree. □ Economics undergraduates are probably the brightest in the university. □ …undergraduate degree programmes.
under|ground ◆◇◇ The adverb is pronounced /ʌ ndə r graʊ nd/. The noun and adjective are pronounced /ʌ ndə r graʊnd/. 1 ADV [ADV after v] Something that is underground is below the surface of the ground. □ Solid low-level waste will be disposed of deep underground. □ The plane hit so hard that one engine was buried 16 feet underground. ● ADJ [ADJ n] Underground is also an adjective. □ …a run-down shopping area with an underground car park. □ …underground water pipes.
2 N‑SING [oft by N ] The underground in a city is the railway system in which electric trains travel below the ground in tunnels. [BRIT ] □ …a woman alone in the underground waiting for a train. □ He crossed London by underground. in AM, use subway 3 N‑SING In a country which is controlled by an enemy or has a harsh government, the underground is an organized group of people who are involved in illegal activities against the people in power. □ These U.S. dollars were smuggled into the country during the war, to aid the underground.
4 ADJ [ADJ n] Underground groups and activities are secret because their purpose is to oppose the government and they are illegal. □ They are accused of organising and financing an underground youth movement.
5 ADV [ADV after v] If you go underground , you hide from the authorities or the police because your political ideas or activities are illegal. □ After the violent clashes of 1981 they either went underground or left the country.
under|growth /ʌ ndə r groʊθ/ N‑UNCOUNT Undergrowth consists of bushes and plants growing together under the trees in a forest. [BRIT ] □ …plunging through the undergrowth. in AM, use underbrush
under|hand /ʌ ndə r hæ nd/ or underhanded /ʌ ndə r hæ ndid/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If an action is underhand or if it is done in an underhand way, it is done secretly and dishonestly. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ …underhand financial deals. □ …a list of the underhanded ways in which their influence operates in the United States. □ She accused the government of being underhand.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] You use underhand or underhanded to describe actions, such as throwing a ball, in which you do not raise your arm above your shoulder. [AM ] □ …an underhanded pitch. ● ADV [ADV after v] Underhand is also an adverb. □ In softball, pitches are tossed underhand. [in BRIT, use underarm ]
under|lay (underlays ) The noun is pronounced /ʌ ndə r le I /. The verb is pronounced /ʌ ndə r le I /. 1 N‑VAR Underlay is a layer of thick material that you place between a carpet and the floor to protect the carpet and make it feel warmer and softer. [BRIT ]
2 Underlay is the past tense of underlie .
under|lie /ʌ ndə r la I / (underlies , underlying , underlay , underlain )
1 VERB If something underlies a feeling or situation, it is the cause or basis of it. □ [V n] Try to figure out what feeling underlies your anger.
2 → see also underlying
under|line /ʌ ndə r la I n/ (underlines , underlining , underlined )
1 VERB If one thing, for example an action or an event, underlines another, it draws attention to it and emphasizes its importance. □ [V n] The report underlined his concern that standards were at risk. □ [V wh] But the incident underlines how easily things can go wrong. [Also V that]