pronunciation note: The adverb is pronounced (ʌndəʳgraʊnd). The noun and adjective are pronounced (ʌndəʳgraʊnd).
1. adverb [ADVERB after verb]
Something that is underground is below the surface of the ground.
Solid low-level waste will be disposed of deep underground.
The plane hit so hard that one engine was buried 16 feet underground.
Synonyms: below ground, in the earth, under the earth, below the surface More Synonyms of underground
Underground is also an adjective.
...a run-down shopping area with an underground car park.
...underground water pipes.
2. singular noun [oft byNOUN]
Theunderground in a city is the railway system in which electric trains travel below the ground in tunnels.
[British]
...a woman alone in the underground waiting for a train.
He crossed London by underground.
The underground is ideal for getting to work in Milan.
regional note: in AM, use subway
3. singular noun
In a country which is controlled by an enemy or has a harsh government, the underground is an organized group of people who are involved in illegal activities against the people in power.
These U.S. dollars were smuggled into the country during the war, to aid the underground.
4. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
Underground groups and activities are secret because their purpose is to oppose the government and they are illegal.
The organization runs an underground network to help people to leave the country.
They are accused of organising and financing an underground youth movement.
Synonyms: secret, undercover, covert, hidden More Synonyms of underground
5. adverb [ADVERB after verb]
If you go underground, you hide from the authorities or the police because your political ideas or activities are illegal.
After the violent clashes of 1981 they either went underground or left the country.
...opposition leaders, who are working underground because of the threat of arrest.
More Synonyms of underground
underground in British English
adjective (ˈʌndəˌɡraʊnd)
1.
occurring, situated, or used below ground level
an underground tunnel
an underground explosion
2.
secret; hidden
underground activities
adverb (ˌʌndəˈɡraʊnd)
3.
going below ground level
the tunnel led underground
4.
into hiding or secrecy
the group was driven underground
noun (ˈʌndəˌɡraʊnd)
5.
a space or region below ground level
6.
a.
a movement dedicated to overthrowing a government or occupation forces, as in the European countries occupied by the German army in World War II
b.
(as modifier)
an underground group
7. the underground
8. (usually preceded by the)
a.
any avant-garde, experimental, or subversive movement in popular art, films, music, etc
b.
(as modifier)
the underground press
underground music
underground in American English
(ˈʌndərˌgraʊnd)
adjective
1.
occurring, working, placed, used, etc. beneath the surface of the earth
2.
secret; hidden; undercover
3.
designating or of newspapers, films, music, etc. that are unconventional, experimental, radical, etc.
adverb
4.
beneath the surface of the earth
5.
in or into secrecy or hiding; so as to be undercover; surreptitiously
noun
6.
the entire region beneath the surface of the earth
7.
an underground space or passage
8.
a secret movement organized in a country to oppose or overthrow the government inpower or enemy forces of occupation
9.
an underground movement in media, films, music, etc.
10. British
a subway
Examples of 'underground' in a sentence
underground
Others have been built deep underground or launched into space.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
And put the car parking underground.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
As more places close, this is driven underground and to illegal parties.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
People can go deeper underground if they think they are being looked for,' he said.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He said:'They are like an underground city.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
People on the underground probably have a bigger profit margin than people in the charts.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Soil temperatures rise the deeper you go underground.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Why does a young man go underground?
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
There are communal lawns and underground parking space.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The club scene was underground and illegal.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Plus they live underground which increases their chance of surviving the initial blast.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Millions ignored the very real threat of further attacks and used the underground system again yesterday.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
What must it sound like to her as she arrives down the underground passage?
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
It is set in the secret underground lair of an alien creature.
The Sun (2012)
We are the home of music and the underground.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The economic downturn has hit the underground residents in their pockets too.
The Sun (2009)
But the full power of the technology will only become apparent when we bury the trains underground.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Underneath the complex is a rabbit run of underground tunnels and bunkers.
The Sun (2011)
The driver parks in an underground car park.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Those wishing to arrive discreetly can enter the cavernous underground garage beneath the fountain basin.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It was the first underground railway anywhere.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
She spoke in a voice resolute and powered by an underground vein of something quite close to outrage.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
He was then said to have fled towards the city 's underground network.
The Sun (2016)
There's no desire to send people a mile underground to dig for coal.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Once it cools sufficiently, it will be placed permanently in a final repository deep underground.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
I am not a fan of the underground movement.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
More than 700 people remained underground.
The Sun (2006)
It was planned in the Cold War as an underground regional government headquarters.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
In other languages
underground
British English: underground /ˌʌndəˈɡraʊnd/ ADVERB
Something that is underground is below the surface of the ground.
Solid low-level waste will be disposed of deep underground.
American English: underground
Arabic: تـَحْتَ سَطْحُ الَأرْض
Brazilian Portuguese: subterrâneo
Chinese: 在地下
Croatian: podzemno
Czech: v podzemí
Danish: under jorden
Dutch: ondergronds
European Spanish: bajo tierra
Finnish: maan alla
French: sous terre
German: unterirdisch
Greek: υπογείως
Italian: sottoterra
Japanese: 地下に
Korean: 지하에
Norwegian: undergrunns-
Polish: tajnie
European Portuguese: subterrâneo
Romanian: subteran
Russian: подземный
Latin American Spanish: bajo tierra
Swedish: under jorden
Thai: ใต้ดิน
Turkish: yerin altında
Ukrainian: підземний
Vietnamese: dưới mặt đất
British English: underground /ˈʌndəɡraʊnd/ NOUN
The underground in a city is the railway system in which electric trains travel below the ground in tunnels.
...a woman alone in the underground waiting for a train.
American English: subway
Arabic: سِكَّةٌ حَدِيديَّةٌ تـَحْتَ الَأرْض
Brazilian Portuguese: subterrâneo
Chinese: 地铁
Croatian: podzemna željeznica
Czech: metro
Danish: undergrund
Dutch: metro
European Spanish: metro
Finnish: maanalainen järjestö
French: métro
German: Untergrundbewegung
Greek: υπόγειος σιδηρόδρομος
Italian: metropolitana
Japanese: 地下運動
Korean: 지하 운동
Norwegian: undergrunn
Polish: metro
European Portuguese: subterrâneo
Romanian: metrou
Russian: метрополитен
Latin American Spanish: subterráneo
Swedish: tunnelbana
Thai: รถไฟใต้ดิน
Turkish: yeraltı harekatı
Ukrainian: метрополітен
Vietnamese: tàu điện ngầm
All related terms of 'underground'
the underground
an electric passenger railway operated in underground tunnels
underground movie
a movie produced independently on a low budget and often using experimental techniques and avant-garde themes
underground tunnel
A tunnel is a long passage which has been made under the ground, usually through a hill or under the sea.
underground combustion
Underground combustion is the process of heating oil to allow it to flow more easily and make it easier to recover .
underground railroad
(in the pre-Civil War US) the system established by abolitionists to aid escaping slaves
underground railway
A railway is a route between two places along which trains travel on steel rails .
Chinese translation of 'underground'
underground
(ˈʌndəɡraund)
n
the underground
(Brit, = railway) 地铁(鐵) (dìtiě)
美 = subway
(Pol) 地下组(組)织(織) (dìxià zǔzhī)
adj
[car park, cables, newspaper, activities]地下的 (dìxià de)
adv
(= below ground) 在地下 (zài dìxià)
(= secretly) 秘(祕)密地 (mìmì de)
1 (adverb)
Definition
below ground level
Solid low-level waste will be disposed of deep underground.
Synonyms
below ground
in the earth
under the earth
below the surface
2 (adverb)
Definition
secretly
Opposition leaders are working underground.
Synonyms
in hiding
behind closed doors
in secrecy
undercover
out of sight
in seclusion
1 (adjective)
Definition
beneath the ground
a rundown shopping area with an underground car park
Synonyms
subterranean
basement
lower-level
sunken
Steps led down to the sunken bath.
covered
buried
buried treasure
below the surface
below ground
subterrestrial
2 (adjective)
Definition
secret; clandestine
accused of organizing and financing an underground youth movement
Synonyms
secret
I was heading on a secret mission that made my flesh crawl.
undercover
an undercover operation designed to catch drug smugglers
covert
They have been supplying covert military aid to the rebels.
hidden
The den was hidden in the undergrowth.
guerrilla
revolutionary
Do you know anything about the revolutionary movement?
concealed
He was filmed with a concealed camera.
confidential
She accused them of leaking confidential information.
dissident
closet
He is a closet folk enthusiast.
subversive
clandestine
They are said to have been holding clandestine meetings for years.
renegade
insurgent
hush-hush (informal)
Though these meetings were hush-hush there were sometimes leaks.
surreptitious
They had several surreptitious conversations.
cloak-and-dagger
hugger-mugger
insurrectionist
hole-and-corner (informal)
I think we were treated in a rather hole-and-corner fashion.
radical
3 (adjective)
Definition
secret; clandestine
a film about the underground music scene in Los Angeles
Synonyms
avant-garde
avant-garde concert music
alternative
experimental
He writes bizarre and highly experimental music.
innovative
products which are cheaper and more innovative
ground-breaking
phrase
See the underground
Additional synonyms
in the sense of buried
buried treasure
Synonyms
hidden,
concealed,
covered
in the sense of clandestine
Definition
secret and concealed
They are said to have been holding clandestine meetings for years.
Synonyms
secret,
private,
hidden,
underground,
concealed,
closet,
covert,
sly,
furtive,
underhand,
surreptitious,
stealthy,
cloak-and-dagger,
under-the-counter
in the sense of closet
Definition
private or secret
He is a closet folk enthusiast.
Synonyms
secret,
private,
hidden,
unknown,
concealed,
covert,
unrevealed
Synonyms of 'underground'
underground
Explore 'underground' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of concealed
He was filmed with a concealed camera.
Synonyms
hidden,
covered,
secret,
screened,
masked,
obscured,
covert,
unseen,
tucked away,
secreted,
under wraps,
inconspicuous
in the sense of confidential
Definition
spoken or given in confidence
She accused them of leaking confidential information.
Synonyms
secret,
private,
intimate,
classified,
privy (archaic),
off the record,
hush-hush (informal),
closed or closed source,
protected
in the sense of covert
Definition
concealed or secret
They have been supplying covert military aid to the rebels.
Synonyms
secret,
private,
hidden,
disguised,
concealed,
veiled,
sly,
clandestine,
underhand,
unsuspected,
surreptitious,
stealthy
in the sense of experimental
Definition
trying out new ideas or methods
He writes bizarre and highly experimental music.
Synonyms
innovative,
new,
original,
radical,
creative,
ingenious,
avant-garde,
inventive,
ground-breaking
in the sense of hidden
Definition
difficult to find
The den was hidden in the undergrowth.
Synonyms
concealed,
covered,
secret,
covert,
unseen,
clandestine,
secreted,
under wraps,
unrevealed
in the sense of hole-and-corner
Definition
furtive or secretive
I think we were treated in a rather hole-and-corner fashion.
Synonyms
furtive,
secret,
secretive,
clandestine,
sneaky (informal),
underhand,
surreptitious,
stealthy,
under the counter (informal),
backstairs
in the sense of hush-hush
Definition
(esp. of official work) secret and confidential
Though these meetings were hush-hush there were sometimes leaks.
Synonyms
secret,
confidential,
classified,
top-secret,
restricted,
under wraps
in the sense of innovative
products which are cheaper and more innovative
Synonyms
novel,
new,
original,
different,
fresh,
unusual,
unfamiliar,
uncommon,
inventive,
singular,
ground-breaking,
left-field (informal),
transformational,
variational
in the sense of revolutionary
Definition
advocating or engaged in revolution
Do you know anything about the revolutionary movement?
Synonyms
rebel,
radical,
extremist,
subversive,
insurgent,
seditious,
mutinous,
insurrectionary
in the sense of sunken
Definition
situated at a lower level than the surrounding or usual one
Steps led down to the sunken bath.
Synonyms
lowered,
buried,
depressed,
recessed,
below ground,
at a lower level
Additional synonyms
in the sense of surreptitious
Definition
done in secret or without permission
They had several surreptitious conversations.
Synonyms
secret,
clandestine,
furtive,
sneaking,
veiled,
covert,
sly,
fraudulent,
unauthorized,
underhand,
stealthy
in the sense of undercover
Definition
done or acting in secret
an undercover operation designed to catch drug smugglers