From Middle English under, from Old English under, from Proto-West Germanic *undar, from Proto-Germanic *under, from a merger of Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰér (“under”) and *h₁entér (“inside”).

Akin to German unter, Dutch onder, Danish and Norwegian under; also Old High German untar (“under”), Sanskrit अन्तर् (antar, “within”), Latin infrā (“below, beneath”) and inter (“between, among”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈʌndə/, [ˈɐn.də(ɹ)]
• (General American) enPR: ŭnʹ-dər IPA^(key): /ˈʌndɚ/, [ˈʌn(ɾ)ɚ], [ˈʌɾ̃ɚ]

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• (Northern England) IPA^(key): /ˈʊndə/
• Hyphenation: un‧der
• Rhymes: -ʌndə(ɹ)

under

1. Beneath; below; at or to the bottom of, or the area covered or surmounted by.

   We found some shade under a tree.

   Quick, stuff the cash under the mattress!

   There is nothing new under the sun.

   There is an oil leak under the car.

   • 1922 October 26, Virginia Woolf, chapter 1, in Jacob’s Room, Richmond, London: […] Leonard & Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press, →OCLC; republished London: The Hogarth Press, 1960, →OCLC:

     The little boys in the front bedroom had thrown off their blankets and lay under the sheets.

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 14, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     Nanny Broome was looking up at the outer wall.  Just under the ceiling there were three lunette windows, heavily barred and blacked out in the normal way by centuries of grime.

   • 2013 June 29, “High and wet”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 28:

     Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale. […] Rock-filled torrents smashed vehicles and homes, burying victims under rubble and sludge.

   1. Below the surface of.
      • 1998, “SpongeBob SquarePants Theme”, in Stephen Hillenburg, Derek Drymon (lyrics), SpongeBob SquarePants: Original Theme Highlights:

        Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? SpongeBob SquarePants!

2. From one side of to the other, passing beneath.

   I crawled under the fence.

   There is a tunnel under the English Channel.

3. Less than.

   Interest rates are now under 1%.

   We can get there in under an hour.

4. Subject to.

   We were constantly under bombardment.

   I can't live under these circumstances.

   The matter is under investigation.

   1. Subordinate to; subject to the control of; in accordance with; in compliance with.

      He served in World War II under General Omar Bradley.

      During the pandemic, we had to live under severe restrictions.

      Under the law and concession agreement with other parties, the private company must pay taxes in time and on a right amount.

      • 1987, Arthur C. Hasiotis, Jr., Soviet Political, Economic, and Military Involvement in Sinkiang from 1928 to 1949‎^[2], Garland Publishing, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 62:

        There is general agreement that his military forces were organized into six divisions. They were stationed at the following places: at Ti-hua under the command of Liu Hsi-tsen, at T'a-ch'eng under Chiang Sung-lin, at Ili under Niu Shih, at A-shan under Wei Chen-kuo, at A-k'o-su under Chang Tzu-t'ing, and at Ko-shih-ko-erh (Kashgar) nominally under Tsou-ying, but in reality under Chin's brother, Chin Shu-chih.

      • 2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport‎^[3]:

        He was then denied by a magnificent tackle from captain Terry as Liverpool continued to press - but Chelsea survived as the memories of the nightmare under Villas-Boas faded even further into the background.

      • 2011 December 14, Angelique Chrisafis, “Rachida Dati accuses French PM of sexism and elitism”, in Guardian‎^[4]:

        Dati launched a blistering attack on the prime minister, François Fillon, under whom she served as justice minister, accusing him of sexism, elitism, arrogance and hindering the political advancement of ethnic minorities.

5. Within the category, classification or heading of.

   File this under "i" for "ignore".

6. (figuratively) In the face of; in response to (some attacking force).
   • 2011, Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France‎^[5]:

     England's World Cup dreams fell apart under a French onslaught on a night when their shortcomings were brutally exposed at the quarter-final stage.

   to collapse under stress; to give in under interrogation

7. Using or adopting (a name, identity, etc.).
   • 2013, The Huffington Post, JK Rowling Pseudonym: Robert Galbraith's 'The Cuckoo's Calling' Is Actually By Harry Potter Author‎^[6]:

     J.K. Rowling has written a crime novel called 'The Cuckoo's Calling' under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

   He writes books under the name John Smith.

   She now lives under a new identity.

• below
• beneath
• underneath

• above
• over

under (not comparable)

1. In or to a lower or subordinate position, or a position beneath or below something, physically or figuratively.

   pulled under by the currents

   weighed under by worry

   • 1825, Thomas Moore, The Minster Boy:

     The minstrel fell, but the foeman's chain / Could not bring his proud soul under.

2. So as to pass beneath something.

   There's quite a gap, so you may be able to sneak under.

3. (usually in compounds) Less than what is necessary to be adequate or suitable; insufficient.

   The plants were underwatered.

   Women are under-represented.

4. (informal) In or into an unconscious state.

   It took the hypnotist several minutes to make his subject go under.

5. Down to defeat, ruin, or death.

   The COVID-19 epidemic and shutdown took some businesses under.

   Big-box store and online retailing have driven many specialty and local retail stores under.

• below
• beneath

• above
• over

under (comparative more under, superlative most under)

1. Lower; beneath something.

   This treatment protects the under portion of the car from rust.

   (in compounds) underbelly, underside, undershirt, undersecretary

   • 1835, J G. Peters, A treatise on equitation, or the art of horsemanship, page 179:

     The advantages he gains are of double security to him ; first, by the support of his haunches, being at all times more under than before, he learns to be more active with his hind-quarters

   • 1908, Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles, The American golfer, volumes 1-2, page 10:

     If you allow the right hand to turn under more than the left, a pull will result, and if the left is more under than the right, a sliced ball will surely follow.

   • 2009, Doris Lessing, Briefing for a Descent Into Hell, page 30:

     The waves are so steep, they crash so fast and furious I'm more under than up.

2. In a state of subordination, submission or defeat.

   The army could not keep the people under.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Corinthians ix:27:

     I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection.

   • 1892, Sir George Giffard, Reminiscences of a Naval Officer, page 45:

     When ready for sea we went up to Greenhithe, that their lordships might inspect us, and then to Portsmouth, to take troops to Cork, a pleasant trip; but the troops left us a legacy of "mahogany flats," with which their beds were so swarming that we never got them under.

3. (medicine, colloquial) Under anesthesia, especially general anesthesia; sedated.

   Ensure the patient is sufficiently under.

4. (informal) Having a particular property that is low, especially so as to be insufficient or lacking in a particular respect.

   This chicken is a bit under. (insufficiently cooked)

   This bag of apples feels under. (of insufficient weight)

   My pay packet last week was £10 under. (of insufficient monetary amount)

   My round of golf today was three under. (under par)

See also under-

under (plural unders)

1. The amount by which an actual total is less than the expected or required amount.
   • 2008, G. Puttick, Sandy van Esch, The Principles and Practice of Auditing, page 609:

     […] standard cash count forms used to record the count and any overs or unders.

2. (informal) Something having a particular property that is low or too low.

   I went fishing but caught nothing but unders. (undersized fish)

   Usually I am at least ten over on that course, but I have shot a couple of unders. (under-par rounds of golf)

3. (gambling) A bet that a particular sporting statistic, such as points scored in a game, will be below a certain stated value.

• Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "The vertical axis", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition, Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8
• “under”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “under”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

• nuder, urned, unred, Ruden, runed, Düren, Duren, ruden, Rendu

Clipping of English underwear.

under

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) underwear (Classifier: 條／条 c)

• English Loanwords in Hong Kong Cantonese

From English under.

under

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) to be under; to be subordinate to
   • 2019 June 10, 梁智勇 [Leung Chi Yung, Ronald], “2019年6月10日的聆訊紀錄本 [Transcript of the Hearing held on 10 June 2019]”, in 沙田至中環線項目紅磡站擴建部分及其鄰近的建造工程調查委員會 (前稱沙田至中環線項目紅磡站擴建部分的連續牆及月台層板建造工程調查委員會) [Commission of Inquiry into the Construction Works at and near the Hung Hom Station Extension under the Shatin to Central Link Project (formerly Commission of Inquiry into the Diaphragm Wall and Platform Slab Construction Works at the Hung Hom Station Extension under the Shatin to Central Link Project)]‎^[7], page 6:

     我記憶中，Alan Yeung冇under過我。 [Cantonese, trad.]
     我记忆中，Alan Yeung冇under过我。 [Cantonese, simp.]

     ngo⁵ gei³ jik¹ zung¹, Alan Yeung mou⁵ an¹ daa⁴ gwo³ ngo⁵. [Jyutping]

     In my memory, Alan Yeung has never worked under me.

2. (Hong Kong Cantonese, photography) to underexpose

From Old Norse undir, from Proto-Germanic *under, cognate with English under, German unter.

• u. (abbreviation)

• IPA^(key): /on(ˀ)ər/, [ɔnɐ], [ɔnˀɐ] or (as an adverb or at the end of a phrase) IPA^(key): /onˀər/, [ˈɔnˀɐ]

under

1. under
2. underneath
3. below
4. during

under

1. under

From Old Norse undr, from Proto-Germanic *wundrą, cognate with English wonder, German Wunder.

• IPA^(key): /onˀər/, [ˈɔnˀɐ]

under n (singular definite underet, plural indefinite undere)

1. wonder
2. marvel
3. miracle

• underfuld
• underlig
• undre
• vidunder

Clipping of underdel or underside.

• IPA^(key): /onər/, [ˈɔnɐ]

under c (singular definite underen, plural indefinite undere)

1. bottom (part)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

• IPA^(key): /onər/, [ˈɔnɐ]

under

1. present tense of unde

under

1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of undō

• vnder, onder

From Old English under, from Proto-West Germanic *undar, from Proto-Germanic *under.

under

1. under
2. among

• English: under
• Scots: unner
• Yola: unnere

• “under, prep.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

• IPA^(key): /ˈʉ̂nːəɾ/, /ˈʉ̂ndəɾ/
• Predominantly silent d in the preposition, pronounced /d/ in the noun; but individual speakers may deviate.

From Old Norse undir, from Proto-Germanic *under.

under

1. below; beneath
2. during
3. under

• oppunder
• under-
• underveis

From Old Norse undr, from Proto-Germanic *wundrą, from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to wish for, desire, strive for, win, love”).

under n (definite singular underet or undret, indefinite plural under or undere or undre, definite plural undera or underne or undra or undrene)

1. wonder, marvel, miracle

• underfull
• underverk
• vidunder

• “under” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

• poinni (dialectal)

• IPA^(key): /ˈʉndər/

From Old Norse undir, from Proto-Germanic *under. Akin to English under.

under

1. below, beneath, under
2. during

• oppunder
• under-

From Old Norse undr, from Proto-Germanic *wundrą, from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to wish for, desire, strive for, win, love”). Akin to English wonder.

under n (definite singular underet, indefinite plural under, definite plural undera)

1. wonder, marvel, miracle

• underverk

• “under” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

From Proto-West Germanic *undar

under

1. under

• Altniederfränkischer Psalm 63

From Proto-West Germanic *undar, from Proto-Germanic *under. Compare Old Saxon undar, Old High German untar.

• IPA^(key): /ˈun.der/

under [with dative (indicating location) or accusative (indicating movement)]

1. under, beneath

   Cum nū under mīnne hrōf. Iċ sitte ǣr under him.

   Come now under my roof. I am already sitting beneath it.

   • 10th century, The Wanderer:

     Hwǣr cōm mearg? Hwǣr cōm mago? · Hwǣr cōm māþþumġyfa?
     Hwǣr cōm symbla ġesetu? · Hwǣr sindon seledrēamas?
     Ēalā beorht bune! · Ēalā byrnwiga!
     Ēalā þēodnes þrym! · Hū sēo þrāg ġewāt,
     ġenāp under nihthelm, · swā hēo nō wære.

     Whither did the horse come? Whither did the man come? Whither did the treasure-giver come?
     Whither did the seats of feasts come? Where are the hall-joys?
     Alack and alas, bright cup! Alack and alas, mailed warrior!
     Alack and alas, the army of the king! How did the time pass,
     grow dark under the cover of night, as if it never did.

2. among

• Middle English: under, vnder, onder
  • English: under
  • Scots: unner
  • Yola: unnere

From Old Norse undr, from Proto-Germanic *wundrą.

under n

1. wonder, miracle
2. wonderment, awe, marvel

gen_sg=unders
nom_pl=under
acc_pl=under
nom_sg=under
acc_sg=under

• Swedish: under

• IPA^(key): /ˈɵndɛr/^[1]

• Audio:

  (file)

From Old Swedish undir, from Old Norse undir, from Proto-Germanic *under.

under

1. under; below; beneath
2. during, at the same time as

   Under lektionen pratade de hela tiden.

   During the lesson, they talked all the time.

• underskatta
• undertag

From Old Swedish under, from Old Norse undr, from Proto-Germanic *wundrą, from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to wish for, desire, strive for, win, love”).

under n

1. wonder, miracle

   Undrens tid är inte förbi.

   The age of miracles isn't over.

• underbarn
• vidunder

• på under
• under tiden

• under in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• under in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• under in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

• runde, undre