Word.ws English Dictionary

underword

underword noun: a word placed below another, either literally or metaphorically: a subtext; an inadequate or subordinate term or description; a secret word or phrase; a watchword.

Noun

underword (plural underwords)

  1. A word placed below another, either literally or metaphorically: a subtext; an inadequate or subordinate term or description; a secret word or phrase; a watchword
    • The soldier hesitated, and seemed to mistrust the party; he raised his lantern, and cast a scrutinising look at them, but an underword and a mysterious look of recognition removed his doubts, and they passed on.1867, The loyalist's daughter, by a royalist - Page 8
    • Such underwords of nature thrill With wonder and with mystery; The wind has blown them from the hill, The waves have whispered to the sea; And nature all is manifold Akin with lore we cannot tell, [...]1894, E. A. C. M., Parva Seges - Page 34

Examples of underword in a sentence

  • And at the base of the plate, in the "underword" that has been created through devotion to a specific idea of death, we see the coffin, covered with turf, and marked with criss-crossed briars.1997, Hisaaki Yamanouchi, George Hughes, Corresponding Powers - Page 7:
  • Each speaks an underword - italicised to indicate its fragmentary, translated nature - [...]1998, Elmer Kennedy-Andrews, The Poetry of Seamus Heaney - Page 137:
  • While to that voice amid those memories heard Answered her underword, No wonder if the Eternal Presence then Seemed mute no more to men, [...]2008, Charles W. Spurgeon, The Poetry of Westminster Abbey - Page 182:
  • Beautiful is an underword to describe you, [...]2015, GAYLORD MUNEMO, THE LOVERS VOYAGES: POETIC SERIES - Page 134:

Forms of underword

pluralunderwords

Origin of underword

From under- + word.

Questions about underword

What does underword mean?
Underword means a word placed below another, either literally or metaphorically: a subtext; an inadequate or subordinate term or description; a secret word or phrase; a watchword.
How do you use underword in a sentence?
And at the base of the plate, in the "underword" that has been created through devotion to a specific idea of death, we see the coffin, covered with turf, and marked with criss-crossed briars.
What part of speech is underword?
Underword is a noun.
What is the plural of underword?
The plural of underword is underwords.

Words near underword in the dictionary

  1. Underwood's septa
  2. underwooded
  3. underwoods
  4. underwool
  5. underwools
  6. underword
  7. underwords
  8. underwork
  9. underworked
  10. underworker
  11. underworkers

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: underword (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-underword.wav.

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