# underneath

Pronunciation: US say "un-der-NEETH" /ʌndɚˈniθ/; UK say "un-duh-NEETH" /ʌndəˈniːθ/

## Preposition

1. Used before a noun or pronoun to show that something is under, below, or beneath it.
   - Simple: Used to say that something is under or below something else.
   - _She found her keys underneath a pile of old mail._
   - _The canoe slipped underneath the low stone bridge._
5. Used to show that someone or something is under the control or power of another.
   - Simple: Used to say that someone is controlled by a person or power.
   - _Few people dared to speak out underneath the general's rule._
   - _Free speech withered underneath the regime's censors._

## Adverb

2. Below, or in a place beneath something.
   - Simple: Under something, in a lower place.
   - _The ice looked solid, but dark water was moving underneath._
   - _I kept my jacket on because I had only a tank top on underneath._
3. On the underside or lower surface of something.
   - Simple: On the bottom side of something.
   - _The beetle is black above and bright red underneath._
   - _The table looked new, but it was scratched and stained underneath._

## Noun

4. The bottom or underside of something.
   - Simple: The bottom side of something.
   - _Rust had eaten through the underneath of the old truck._
   - _She sealed the underneath of the shelf so it would not warp in the damp._
7. Background music or sound played under a particular radio announcement or program.
   - Simple: Music or sound played quietly behind someone talking on the radio.
   - _The producer chose a slow jazz track as the underneath for the station's holiday message._
   - _During the weather report, the underneath is a quiet piano loop._

## Adjective

6. Lower, or lying beneath something else.
   - Simple: Lower, or under something else.
   - _When they stripped the wallpaper, the underneath layer turned out to be pale green._
   - _Beneath the perfume was an underneath smell of damp and mold._

## Origin

From Middle English undernethe, undernethen, from Old English underneoþan ("underneath"), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *underniþer.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/underneath (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).