underground

USun-dur-GROWND/ˌʌndɚˈɡɹaʊnd/UKun-duh-GROWND/ˌʌndəˈɡɹaʊnd/

Noun pluralundergrounds (some meanings)

Verbundergrounds, undergrounding, undergrounded

10 meanings of underground

1
adjective
Found or placed below the surface of the ground.
Like the roots of a tree, hidden below the soil.
The house has an underground garage for two cars.
Workers hit an underground stream while digging the well.
Similarsubterranean
Oppositeaboveground, overground
Note
2
adverb
In or to a place below the surface of the ground.
Like a worm tunneling down deep in the soil.
The miners worked underground for eight hours at a time.
Moles spend most of their lives underground.
Similarbelow
3
noununcountable
The area below the surface of the earth, including natural caves and man-made mines.
Like a hidden world under your feet, full of tunnels and caves.
Explorers mapped the underground beneath the limestone hills.
Strange pale creatures live in the underground, far from any light.
Similarsubsurface, depths
Oppositesurface
Note
4
adjectivefiguratively
Kept hidden and done in secret, away from public notice.
Like a secret kept just between close friends.
They held an underground meeting to plan the protest.
The group ran an underground network that helped families escape.
Similarhidden, secret, concealed, private, veiled
Oppositeopen, public, overt
5
adverb
In a secret or hidden way, out of public view.
Like passing notes when the teacher isn't looking.
The activists organized underground to avoid arrest.
During the occupation, the printers operated underground for years.
Similarclandestinely
Oppositeopenly, publicly
6
nouncountablewith the
A secret group of people who fight against the official government or its rules.
Like a hidden team working against the people in charge.
She joined the underground to oppose the dictatorship.
The resistance grew from a small underground into a national movement.
Similarresistance
Note
7
adjective
Outside the popular trends, often unofficial and hidden from those in charge.
Like a band that plays in small clubs instead of big concert halls.
The band built a following in the underground music scene.
Her underground films were shown in basements and old warehouses.
Similarunconventional, alternative
Oppositemainstream
Note
8
nounBritish
A city railway that runs in tunnels under the streets, called the subway in America.
Like a train that travels through tunnels deep under the city streets.
We took the underground from Victoria to King's Cross.
The underground was packed during the morning rush.
Similarsubway
Note
9
nouncountablewith the
A group of artists who break away from accepted styles and traditions.
Like artists who invent new kinds of art instead of copying the old ones.
The young painters formed an underground that mocked the academy.
Musicians of the underground reshaped the sound of the decade.
Similarcounterculture, avant-garde
Oppositemainstream
10
verbtransitive
To put electric power cables below the ground instead of on poles.
Like burying a garden hose so no one trips over it.
The town voted to underground its power lines after the storm.
Utilities often underground the cables in new neighborhoods.
Similarbury
Note

Practice

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Origin

From Middle English undergrounde, made from under plus ground.