A line placed underneath a piece of text in order to provide emphasis or (in electronic documents) to indicate that it should be viewed in italics or that it acts as a hyperlink.
The character .
Verb
To draw a line underneath something, especially to add emphasis; to underscore
2011, December 10, Marc Higginson, Bolton 1 - 2 Aston Villa, The Midlanders will hope the victory will kickstart a campaign that looked to have hit the buffers, but the sense of trepidation enveloping the Reebok Stadium heading into the new year underlines the seriousness of the predicament facing Owen Coyle's men.
(obsolete) To influence secretly.By mere chance in appearance, though underlined with a providence, they had a full light of the infanta. — Sir H. Wotton.
1950, Leonora Fry, C. W. Huxtable, Get to know: British railways (page 26)Just as it was sometimes necessary to lower the road to take it beneath an underline bridge, so in this case it might be necessary to raise it.
