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underground

un·der·ground
U u

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [adverb, uhn-der-ground; adjective, noun, verb uhn-der-ground]
    • /adverb, ˈʌn dərˈgraʊnd; adjective, noun, verb ˈʌn dərˌgraʊnd/
    • /ˌʌndəˈɡraʊnd/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [adverb, uhn-der-ground; adjective, noun, verb uhn-der-ground]
    • /adverb, ˈʌn dərˈgraʊnd; adjective, noun, verb ˈʌn dərˌgraʊnd/

Definitions of underground word

  • adverb underground beneath the surface of the ground: traveling underground by subway. 1
  • adverb underground in concealment or secrecy; not openly: subversion carried on underground. 1
  • adjective underground existing, situated, operating, or taking place beneath the surface of the ground. 1
  • adjective underground used, or for use, underground. 1
  • adjective underground hidden or secret; not open: underground political activities. 1
  • adjective underground published or produced by political or social radicals or nonconformists: an underground newspaper. 1

Information block about the term

Origin of underground

First appearance:

before 1565
One of the 32% oldest English words
First recorded in 1565-75; under- + ground1

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Underground

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

underground popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 94% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

underground usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for underground

adj underground

  • backdoor — You can use backdoor to describe an action or process if you disapprove of it because you think it has been done in a secret, indirect, or dishonest way.
  • clandestine — Something that is clandestine is hidden or kept secret, often because it is illegal.
  • conspiratorial — If someone does something such as speak or smile in a conspiratorial way, they do it in a way that suggests they are sharing a secret with someone.
  • deep — If something is deep, it extends a long way down from the ground or from the top surface of something.
  • fathomless — impossible to measure the depth of; bottomless.

noun underground

  • black-market — to black-marketeer.
  • fifth column — a group of people who act traitorously and subversively out of a secret sympathy with an enemy of their country.
  • gray market — a market operating within the law but charging prices substantially below list prices or those fixed by an official agency.
  • metro — the underground electric railway of Paris, France, Montreal, Canada, Washington, D.C., and other cities.

adjective underground

  • covert — Covert activities or situations are secret or hidden.
  • enigmatical — Pertaining to an enigma.
  • hypogean — Existing or growing underground.
  • imperceivable — That cannot be perceived; imperceptible.
  • minority — the smaller part or number; a number, part, or amount forming less than half of the whole.

Antonyms for underground

adjective underground

  • aboveground — occurring, situated, etc. above or on the surface of the earth
  • condoned — to disregard or overlook (something illegal, objectionable, or the like): The government condoned the computer hacking among rival corporations.
  • ground — the act of grinding.

Top questions with underground

  • what was the underground railroad?
  • what is the underground railroad?
  • who created the underground railroad?
  • what is the underground economy?
  • how to find a water leak underground?
  • who owns weather underground?
  • when did the underground railroad start?
  • when did the underground railroad started?
  • when was the underground railroad?
  • who founded the underground railroad?
  • when did the underground railroad end?
  • why was the underground railroad important?
  • which of these best describes the underground railroad?
  • the man who lived underground?
  • how to build an underground bunker?

See also

Matching words

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