Under
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: /ˈʌn.dÉ™(ɹ)/, ˈÉn.dÉ™(ɹ)
- US IPA: /ˈʌn.dɚ/
- Rhymes: -ʌndə(ɹ)
- Hyphenation: un + der
Origin
From Old English under, from Proto-Germanic *under (whence also German unter, Dutch onder, Danish under), from a merger of Proto-Indo-European *n̥dʰér ("under") and *n̥tér ("inside"). Akin to Old High German untar ("under"), Latin infra ("below, beneath"). More at infra-
Preposition
- In or at a lower level than.
- 1922, Virginia Woolf, Jacob's Room Chapter 1The little boys in the front bedroom had thrown off their blankets and lay under the sheets.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, The China Governess Chapter 14, 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.
- 2013-06-29, High and wet, 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.
- As a subject of; subordinate to.
- 2012, May 5, Phil McNulty, Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool, 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, 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.
- Less than.
- Below the surface of.
- (figuratively) In the face of; in response to (some attacking force).
- 2011, Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/15210221.stmEngland'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
Synonyms
Full definition of under
Adverb
under
- In a way lower or less than
- In a way inferior to
Adjective
under
- Being lower; being beneath something.
- Bible, 1 Corinthians ix. 27I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection.
- MooreThe 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, 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, 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, The waves are so steep, they crash so fast and furious I'm more under than up.