under

From Old English under, from Proto-Germanic *under (whence also German unter, Dutch onder, Danish and Norwegian under), from a merger of Proto-Indo-European *n̥dʰér (“under”) and *n̥tér (“inside”). Akin to Old High German untar (“under”), Latin infrā (“below, beneath”) and inter (“between, among”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈʌndə(ɹ)/, [ˈɐn.də(ɹ)]
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈʌndɚ/, [ˈʌn(ɾ)ɚ], [ˈʌɾ̃ɚ]

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• (Northern England) IPA^(key): /ˈʊndə/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌndə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: un‧der

under (1)

under

1. In or at a lower level than.
   • 1922, Virginia Woolf, Jacob's Room Chapter 1

     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:

     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.

2. As a subject of; subordinate to.
   • 2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport‎:

     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:

     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.

   He served in World War II under General Omar Bradley.

3. Less than.
4. Below the surface of.
5. (figuratively) In the face of; in response to (some attacking force).
   • 2011, Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France

     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

6. As, in the character of.
   • 2013, The Huffington Post, JK Rowling Pseudonym: Robert Galbraith's 'The Cuckoo's Calling' Is Actually By Harry Potter Author

     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

• below
• beneath
• underneath

• above
• over

under (not comparable)

1. In a way lower or less than.
   • (Can we add an example for this sense?)
2. In a way inferior to.
   • (Can we add an example for this sense?)
3. (informal) In an unconscious state.

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

• below
• beneath

• above
• over

under (comparative more under, superlative most under)

1. Being lower; being beneath something.
   • Bible, 1 Corinthians ix. 27

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

   • Moore

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

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

   Ensure the patient is sufficiently under.

• 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

• Duren, nuder, ruden, runed, unred, urned

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

• IPA^(key): /onər/, [ɔnˀɐ]

under

1. under

under

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

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

• IPA^(key): /onər/, [ɔnˀɐ]

under n (singular definite underet, plural indefinite undere)

1. wonder
2. marvel
3. miracle

Short form of any compound with the preposition under.

• IPA^(key): /onər/, [ɔnɐ]

under c (singular definite underen, plural indefinite undere)

1. bottom (part)

under

1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of undō

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 *wen- (“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.

• IPA^(key): /ˈʉndər/ (example of pronunciation)

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 *wen- (“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-Germanic *under. Compare Old Saxon undar, Old High German untar.

• IPA^(key): /ˈunder/

under

1. under

• English: under

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

under n

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

• Swedish: under

• audio

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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

From Old Swedish under, from Old Norse undr, from Proto-Germanic *wundrą, from Proto-Indo-European *wen- (“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.

• underskatta
• undertag

• på under
• under tiden