underscore

Pluralunderscores

Formsunderscores, underscoring, underscored

1. 1
   nouncountable

   A line drawn or printed beneath text, or the character _, commonly used in filenames and code where spaces are not allowed.

   The programmer replaced each space in the variable name with an underscore.

   Some email addresses contain an underscore between the words.

   Similarunderline

   Note

   Built plainly from under- and score, a mark scored beneath writing. The word covers both the stroke a pen draws and the keyboard character, which also goes by low line. The stroke carries weight: Richard D. Ondo's A Third Cell in America (2007) puts it simply, "The underscore adds importance." That weight is what grew into the "emphasize" verb.

2. 2
   verbtransitive

   To emphasize something or draw deliberate attention to its importance.

   The report's findings underscore the urgency of reform.

   He wanted to underscore the importance of teamwork during the meeting.

   Similaremphasize, highlight, stress, underline, accentuate

   Oppositedownplay, minimize, understate

3. 3
   verbtransitive

   To draw or print a line beneath a word or passage of text.

   Readers who underscore key sentences in library books leave a mess for the next borrower.

   She underscored the heading in red ink before handing in the draft.

   Similarunderline

   Note

   Programmers bend the verb toward the character rather than the stroke. In Matt Aimonetti's MacRuby: The Definitive Guide (2011), Rubyists "underscore their method names," which means they join the words with _ instead of drawing a line beneath them. In both uses the verb is transitive and takes the text itself as its object: you underscore a heading, or you underscore a name.

4. 4
   nouncountable

   A piece of background music played beneath dialogue or action in film, television, or other media.

   The composer wrote a tense underscore for the final chase sequence.

   Throughout the documentary, a gentle piano underscore supported the narration.

   Similarscore, accompaniment, soundtrack

   Note

   A film composer's word, and its image is the same as the line beneath text: the music runs underneath what the viewer is following. A good underscore shapes mood and pacing while staying below the audience's conscious attention. The noun is countable, so a composer writes a tense underscore for a chase and a gentle one for narration.

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