underscores

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of underscore.

   The address contained several underscores that were easy to miss.

   Many naming conventions rely on underscores to separate distinct terms.

   Note

   Two quite different things can be counted with this plural. One is the marks drawn beneath text, or the _ characters that join words in a file name. The other is pieces of background music, because the singular names both. The spelling is shared with the verb meaning "emphasizes", so the sentence decides which one you have: "the underscores in an address" is the noun, and "it underscores the point" is the verb.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of underscore.

   The new evidence underscores the urgency of the situation.

   His long silence only underscores the tension between them.

   Note

   Here the form agrees with a singular subject (the evidence underscores, his silence underscores). Because the verb is transitive, it always needs an object: something underscores a point, a risk, a tension. In running prose the figurative reading, "emphasizes," is the usual one. The literal act of drawing a line beneath words is more often called underlining.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2