📖 U — The English dictionary · page 6

undeniable — Everyday, meaning 1: So clear or true that nobody can say it is not so: undeniable proof.↗ Example: She had undeniable beauty.↗ · The proof was undeniable.↗ · His courage was undeniable.↗

under — Everyday, meaning 1: Under means below something, or covered by it.↗ The cat is under the table.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Under also means less than a number: children under 5, under 10 dollars.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Under means controlled or ruled by: under the rules, under a king.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: Under also means during: the road is under repair.↗ Example: Children under 5 ride free.↗ · How many numbers under 20 are even?↗ · The box is under the bed.↗ · She finished in under 3 minutes.↗ · The submarine went under the water.↗ · Moles live under the ground.↗ · Everything is under control.↗ · The new library is under construction.↗ · Put your bag under your chair.↗ · He looked under the bench--no one!↗ · Let now a little water be fetched, and wash your feet, and recline yourselves under the tree.↗ (Torah GEN.18.4, JPS 1917)↗ · And their forty sockets of silver: two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.↗ (Torah EXO.26.21, JPS 1917)↗ · and their forty sockets of silver: two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.↗ (Torah EXO.36.26, JPS 1917)↗ · one sea, and the twelve oxen under it.↗ (Writings 2CH.4.15, JPS 1917)↗ · Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is Mine.↗ (Writings JOB.41.3, JPS 1917)↗ · Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun. (Writings ECC.4.7, JPS 1917)↗

underachieve — Everyday, meaning 1: To underachieve is to do less well than you are able to, especially at school or work.↗ Example: The teacher said Sam was underachieving in reading.↗ · Some clever children underachieve because they are bored.↗ · The team underachieved this season.↗ · She stopped underachieving once she got glasses.↗ · Extra help can stop pupils underachieving.↗ · He felt he had underachieved in the test.↗

underarm — Everyday, meaning 1: Underarm describes throwing or hitting with your hand below shoulder level, swinging the arm forwards and up.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Your underarm is your armpit, the hollow under the top of your arm.↗ Example: Throw the beanbag underarm into the hoop.↗ · An underarm throw is good for short distances.↗ · In rounders, the bowler bowls underarm.↗ · Wash your underarms every day.↗ · He served the ball underarm in tennis practice.↗ · She caught the ball after a gentle underarm throw.↗

underbrush — Everyday, meaning 1: Small bushes and plants growing under big trees in a wood.↗ Example: The rabbit hid in the underbrush.↗ · The wolf ran into the underbrush.↗ · We pushed through the underbrush.↗

undercharge — Everyday, meaning 1: To undercharge means to ask someone to pay less than the real or correct price, often by mistake.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To undercharge for your work means to ask too little money for it.↗ Example: The cashier undercharged us by three dollars, so Dad went back to pay.↗ · If a shop undercharges you, it is honest to tell them.↗ · The café undercharged for the cakes because the price label was wrong.↗ · My cousin undercharges for her babysitting — she should ask for more.↗ · The bill should be £18, but we were charged £15, so we were undercharged by £3.↗ · The new till kept undercharging for apples.↗

undercoat — Everyday, meaning 1: An undercoat is a first layer of paint put on before the top layer, to help the top coat stick and look smooth.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: An undercoat is the soft, thick layer of fur close to an animal's skin, under the longer outer hairs.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (verb, rare) To undercoat something is to give it a first layer of paint.↗ Example: Dad painted an undercoat on the fence before the green paint.↗ · The white undercoat helps the bright colour show up.↗ · Leave the undercoat to dry overnight.↗ · Huskies have a thick undercoat that keeps them warm in the snow.↗ · Our dog sheds its undercoat in spring.↗ · Brush the cat often to remove the loose undercoat.↗ · Arctic foxes grow a dense undercoat in winter.↗

undercover — Everyday, meaning 1: Undercover means working secretly, pretending to be someone else, to find out information, as police or spies do.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (adverb) To go undercover is to start working in this secret way.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (sometimes «under cover») Under cover means under a roof or shelter, out of the rain.↗ Example: The undercover officer pretended to be a builder.↗ · The reporter went undercover to find out the truth.↗ · In the film, the spy worked undercover for years.↗ · An undercover inspector ate at the café.↗ · Keep the logs under cover so they stay dry.↗ · My cat went undercover under the bed when the hoover came out.↗ (joking)↗

underdog — Everyday, meaning 1: The underdog is the person or team that is expected to lose a contest.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: An underdog is also a person with less power or money than others.↗ Example: Our small school was the underdog in the final.↗ · Everyone cheered when the underdog won the race.↗ · I always support the underdog.↗ · David was the underdog against the giant Goliath.↗ · The film is a classic underdog story.↗ · The underdogs played their best game ever.↗

underemployed — Everyday, meaning 1: Underemployed means having a job with fewer hours than you want.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Underemployed means doing work that does not use all your skills or training.↗ Example: She is underemployed, working only ten hours a week.↗ · Many graduates are underemployed in jobs that don't need a degree.↗ · The report counted the unemployed and the underemployed.↗ · He felt underemployed stacking shelves with his engineering skills.↗ · Underemployed workers often look for a second job.↗ · The town has many underemployed people since the factory closed.↗

underestimate — Everyday, meaning 1: To underestimate means to guess that an amount, size or time is smaller than it really is: «I underestimated how long the walk would take.».↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To underestimate a person means to think they are less clever, strong or able than they really are.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: An underestimate (noun) is a guess that is too low.↗ Example: I underestimated how many sweets were in the jar: I said 50 and there were 72.↗ · Never underestimate a small dog!↗ · The champions underestimated our team and lost 2–1.↗ · Rounding 48 and 37 down to 40 and 30 gives an underestimate of their sum.↗ · People often underestimate how cold the sea is in spring.↗ · Don't underestimate the danger of swimming in a river.↗ · 200 is an underestimate; the real number is 230.↗

underfoot — Everyday, meaning 1: Under your feet, on the ground where you walk.↗ Example: Dry leaves crunched underfoot.↗ · Mind the stones underfoot.↗ · Dig up the ground underfoot.↗

underfur — Everyday, meaning 1: Underfur is the soft, thick, short fur close to the skin of some animals, under the longer outer hairs, which keeps them warm and dry.↗ Example: Sea otters have thick underfur that keeps them warm in cold water.↗ · The fox's underfur grows thicker in winter.↗ · Beaver underfur was once used to make hats.↗ · Brushing the dog removes loose underfur.↗ · Air trapped in the underfur keeps the animal dry.↗ · Arctic hares have soft underfur under their white coats.↗

undergo — Everyday, meaning 1: (formal) To undergo something is to go through or experience it, especially something unpleasant or difficult, such as an operation, a test or a change.↗ Example: Grandad will undergo an operation on his knee.↗ · A caterpillar undergoes a big change to become a butterfly.↗ · The new car underwent many safety tests.↗ · Water undergoes a change of state when it freezes.↗ · The town has undergone a lot of changes.↗ · All players must undergo a medical check.↗ · They threw themselves at her feet to beg pardon for all the ill-treatment they had made her undergo.↗

underground — Everyday, meaning 1: Underground means below the surface of the ground.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: The underground is a railway that runs in tunnels under a city (in London called the Tube; in the USA the subway).↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Underground can describe something secret or hidden from the authorities.↗ Example: Moles live underground.↗ · Carrots grow underground.↗ · We took the underground to the museum.↗ · Mind the gap on the underground platform.↗ · Rabbits dig underground tunnels called burrows.↗ · Water flows underground in some caves.↗ · Miners work deep underground.↗ · During the war people sheltered in underground stations.↗ · "They are playing at work underground, like moles," said she.↗

undergrowth — Everyday, meaning 1: Undergrowth is the bushes, ferns, small plants and tangled stems that grow thickly under the trees in a wood or forest.↗ Example: Something rustled in the undergrowth.↗ · The rabbit vanished into the undergrowth.↗ · We pushed our way through the thick undergrowth.↗ · Many beetles and spiders live in the forest undergrowth.↗ · The fox hid in the undergrowth until the dogs had gone.↗ · Brambles in the undergrowth scratched our legs.↗ · Then there was a great rustling in the undergrowth, and out ran a wild boar, grunting, ‘Umph, umph, umph; someone said dinner was ready.↗

underline — Everyday, meaning 1: To underline is to draw a line under a word or words to show they are important or to mark a title.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To underline something is to show or stress that it is important: «the accident underlines the need for helmets».↗ Example: Underline the title with a ruler.↗ · Underline all the nouns in the sentence.↗ · She underlined the important words in red.↗ · Underline the answer in your book.↗ · His mistake underlines why we check our work.↗ · The teacher underlined «important» twice.↗ · Underline what the question asks before you start.↗

underlying — Everyday, meaning 1: Underlying means real but hidden; it is the true reason behind something: the underlying cause.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Underlying also means lying under something else: the underlying rock.↗ Example: The underlying cause of the fire was a broken wire.↗ · Under the soil is the underlying rock.↗ · Look for the underlying pattern in the numbers.↗ · His jokes hid an underlying sadness.↗ · Grandad has an underlying heart problem.↗ · The underlying idea of the story is friendship.↗

undermine — Everyday, meaning 1: To undermine something is to make it weaker little by little, often secretly.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To undermine someone is to make them less confident or less respected.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: To undermine also means to dig under something, like a wall or cliff, so it may fall.↗ Example: Constant teasing can undermine a child's confidence.↗ · Waves undermine the cliffs until they fall.↗ · Don't undermine your teacher by talking over her.↗ · The lies undermined their friendship.↗ · Water undermined the old wall.↗ · Eating junk food can undermine your health.↗ · And receiving permission they began to dig, and when the messengers had almost undermined the Capitol they stole away as secretly as they had come.↗

underneath — Everyday, meaning 1: Directly below or under something, often covered or hidden by it.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: On the lower side or bottom surface of something.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Hidden behind how someone or something seems on the outside (underneath it all, he was kind).↗ Example: The cat is hiding underneath the bed.↗ · Write your name underneath the title.↗ · There is a layer of hard rock underneath the soil.↗ · Fish swim underneath the ice in winter.↗ · Look underneath the box for the price sticker.↗ · The underneath of the mushroom has thin gills.↗ · Underneath his grumpy face, Grandpa was very kind.↗ · Never play underneath a parked car.↗ · Then he hid himself underneath, and began to snore loudly.↗ · The eternal God is a dwelling-place, and underneath are the everlasting arms; and He thrust out the enemy from before thee, and said: 'Destroy.'↗ (Torah DEU.33.27, JPS 1917)↗ · And they made two rings of gold, and put them on the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod underneath, in the forepart thereof, close by the coupling thereof, above the skilfully woven band of the ephod.↗ (Torah EXO.39.20, JPS 1917)↗ · And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and shalt put them on the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod underneath, in the forepart thereof, close by the coupling thereof, above the skilfully woven band of the ephod.↗ (Torah EXO.28.27, JPS 1917)↗ · As for the earth, out of it cometh bread, and underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.↗ (Writings JOB.28.5, JPS 1917)↗ · And the four wheels were underneath the borders; and the axletrees of the wheels were in the base; and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit.↗ (Prophets 1KI.7.32, JPS 1917)↗

underpants — Everyday, meaning 1: Underpants are a piece of underwear worn under trousers or a skirt, covering the bottom and the private parts.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: In the UK «underpants» are usually men's or boys' pants; in the US the word is used for anyone's.↗ Example: Don't forget to pack clean underpants for the school trip.↗ · Grandad buys a new pair of underpants every Christmas.↗ · Captain Underpants is a superhero in a funny book series.↗ · The underpants rule says your private parts belong to you.↗ · My little brother ran into the garden in his underpants.↗ · Socks and underpants go in the top drawer.↗

underpass — Everyday, meaning 1: An underpass is a road or path that goes under another road or a railway, so people or cars can cross safely.↗ Example: We walked through the underpass to get to the park.↗ · The underpass goes under the busy main road.↗ · Cyclists use the underpass to avoid the traffic.↗ · The underpass was painted with colourful murals.↗ · Our voices echoed in the underpass.↗ · Use the underpass instead of running across the road.↗