Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

underground

 - definition
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
adverb British English pronunciation: underground /ˌʌndə(r)ˈɡraʊnd/

Related dictionary definitions

  1. 1
    below the surface of the ground

    miners who work all day underground

    Many species of beetle live underground.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  undergroundThesaurus entry for this meaning of underground
  2. 2
    in or to a secret place away from the police or other authorities

    Left-wing activists were driven underground after the coup.

    go underground:

    The police became suspicious and he had to go underground.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  undergroundThesaurus entry for this meaning of underground

This is the British English definition of underground. View American English definition of underground.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

 

vocal fry

a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day Word of the Day

glottal stop

a sound made by stopping air as it passes through your throat. In some varieties of spoken...

Open Dictionary

conflict mineral

a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog