From Middle English under, from Old English under, from Proto-Germanic *under (whence also German unter, Dutch onder, Danish and Norwegian under), from a merger of Proto-Indo-European *h₁n̥dʰér and *h₁entér ("inside").

• (RP) IPA: /ˈʌndə/, [ˈɐn.də(ɹ)]
• (America) enPR: ŭnʹ-dər IPA: /ˈʌndɚ/, [ˈʌn(ɾ)ɚ], [ˈʌɾ̃ɚ]
• (North England) IPA: /ˈʊndə/

1. At the bottom of or in the area covered or surmounted by.

   We found some shade under a tree.

   About £10,000 was stuffed under the mattress.

   There is nothing new under the sun.

   There is an oil leak under the car.

   • 1922 October 26, Virginia Woolf, chapter 1, in Jacob's Room, Richmond, London: […] Leonard & Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press, →OCLC ↗; republished London: The Hogarth Press, 1960, →OCLC ↗:

     The little boys in the front bedroom had thrown off their blankets and lay under the sheets.

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 14, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC ↗:

     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.

   1. Below the surface of.

      The crocodile lurked just under the water.

2. From one side of to the other, passing beneath.

   I crawled under the fence.

   There is a tunnel under the English Channel.

3. Less than.

   Interest rates are now under 1%.

   We can get there in under an hour.

4. Subordinate to; subject to the control of; in accordance with; in compliance with.

   He served in World War II under General Omar Bradley.

   During the pandemic, we had to live under severe restrictions.

   Under the law and concession agreement with other parties, the private company must pay taxes in time and on a right amount.

5. Within the category, classification or heading of.

   File this under "i" for "ignore".

6. (figuratively) In the face of; in response to (some attacking force).
   • 2011, Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France‎:

     England'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

7. Using or adopting (a name, identity, etc.).
   • 2013, The Huffington Post, JK Rowling Pseudonym: Robert Galbraith's 'The Cuckoo's Calling' Is Actually By Harry Potter Author‎:

     J.K. Rowling has written a crime novel called 'The Cuckoo's Calling' under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

   He writes books under the name John Smith.

   She now lives under a new identity.

• below
• beneath
• underneath

• above
• over

• French: sous
• German: unter
• Italian: sotto
• Portuguese: debaixo, sob
• Russian: под
• Spanish: bajo, debajo

• French: sous
• German: unter
• Portuguese: embaixo de, sob
• Russian: под
• Spanish: bajo, sota (disused)

• French: sous
• German: unter
• Portuguese: sob
• Spanish: so

• French: sous
• German: unter
• Spanish: bajo las órdenes de

• French: moins de
• German: unter, weniger als
• Portuguese: menos que/de
• Russian: ме́ньше

under (not comparable)

1. In or to a lower or subordinate position, or a position beneath or below something, physically or figuratively.

   pulled under by the currents

   weighed under by worry

   • 1825, Thomas Moore, The Minster Boy:

     The minstrel fell, but the foeman's chain / Could not bring his proud soul under.

2. So as to pass beneath something.

   There's quite a gap, so you may be able to sneak under.

3. (usually in compounds) Insufficiently.

   The plants were underwatered.

   Women are under-represented.

4. (informal) In or into an unconscious state.

   It took the hypnotist several minutes to make his subject go under.

• below
• beneath

• above
• over

• French: dessous

• French: moins

under

1. Lower; beneath something.

   This treatment protects the under portion of the car from rust.

   (in compounds) underbelly, underside, undershirt, undersecretary

2. In a state of subordination, submission or defeat.

   The army could not keep the people under.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, 1 Corinthians ix:27 ↗:

     I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection.

   • 1892, Sir George Giffard, Reminiscences of a Naval Officer, page 45:

     When ready for sea we went up to Greenhithe, that their lordships might inspect us, and then to Portsmouth, to take troops to Cork, a pleasant trip; but the troops left us a legacy of "mahogany flats," with which their beds were so swarming that we never got them under.

3. (medicine, colloquial) Under anesthesia, especially general anesthesia; sedated.

   Ensure the patient is sufficiently under.

4. (informal) Insufficient or lacking in a particular respect.

   This chicken is a bit under. (insufficiently cooked)

   This bag of apples feels under. (of insufficient weight)

   My pay packet last week was £10 under. (of insufficient monetary amount)

5. Down to defeat, ruin, or death.

   The COVID-19 epidemic and shutdown took some businesses under.

   Big-box store and online retailing have driven many specialty and local retail stores under.

under (plural unders)

1. The amount by which an actual total is less than the expected or required amount.
   • 2008, G. Puttick, Sandy van Esch, The Principles and Practice of Auditing, page 609:

     […] standard cash count forms used to record the count and any overs or unders.