Under

• POS: Preposition, Adverb
• HYPHEN: un=der

CIDE DICTIONARY

Under, prep. [AS. under, prep. & adv.; akin to OFries. under, OS. undar, D. onder, G. unter, OHG. untar, Icel. undir, Sw. & Dan. under, Goth. undar, L. infra below, inferior lower, Skr. adhas below. Inferior.].

 Below or lower, in place or position, with the idea of being covered; lower than; beneath; -- opposed to over; as, he stood under a tree; the carriage is under cover; a cellar extends under the whole house.  [1913 Webster]
"Fruit put in bottles, and the bottles let down into wells under water, will keep long."  [1913 Webster]
"Be gathered now, ye waters under heaven,
Into one place."  [1913 Webster]

Under arms. (Mil.) (a) Drawn up fully armed and equipped. (b) Enrolled for military service; as, the state has a million men under arms. -- Under canvas. (a) (Naut.) Moved or propelled by sails; -- said of any vessel with her sail set, but especially of a steamer using her sails only, as distinguished from one under steam. Under steam and canvas signifies that a vessel is using both means of propulsion. (b) (Mil.) Provided with, or sheltered in, tents. -- Under fire, exposed to an enemy's fire; taking part in a battle or general engagement. -- Under foot. See under Foot, n. -- Under ground, below the surface of the ground. -- Under one's signature, with one's signature or name subscribed; attested or confirmed by one's signature. Cf. the second Note under Over, prep. -- Under sail. (Naut.) (a) With anchor up, and under the influence of sails; moved by sails; in motion. (b) With sails set, though the anchor is down. (c) Same as Under canvas (a), above. Totten. -- Under sentence, having had one's sentence pronounced. -- Under the breath, with low voice; very softly. -- Under the lee (Naut.), to the leeward; as, under the lee of the land. -- Under the rose. See under Rose, n. -- Under water, below the surface of the water. -- Under way, or Under weigh (Naut.), in a condition to make progress; having started.

Under, adv. 

 In a lower, subject, or subordinate condition; in subjection; -- used chiefly in a few idiomatic phrases; as, to bring under, to reduce to subjection; to subdue; to keep under, to keep in subjection; to control; to go under, to be unsuccessful; to fail; to go bankrupt.  [1913 Webster]
" Under is often used in composition with a verb to indicate lowness or inferiority in position or degree, in the act named by the verb; as, to underline; to undermine; to underprop."  [1913 Webster]
"I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection."  [1913 Webster]
"The minstrel fell, but the foeman's chain
Could not bring his proud soul under."  [1913 Webster]

Under, a. 

 Lower in position, intensity, rank, or degree; subject; subordinate; -- generally in composition with a noun, and written with or without the hyphen; as, an undercurrent; undertone; underdose; under-garment; underofficer; undersheriff.  [1913 Webster]

Under covert (Zoöl.), one of the feathers situated beneath the bases of the quills in the wings and tail of a bird. See Illust. under Bird.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Under, prep., adv., & adj.
--prep.
1 a in or to a position lower than; below; beneath (fell under the table; under the left eye). b within, on the inside of (a surface etc.) (wore a vest under his shirt).
2 a inferior to; less than (a captain is under a major; is under 18). b at or for a lower cost than (was under {pound}20).
3 a subject or liable to; controlled or bound by (lives under oppression; under pain of death; born under Saturn; the country prospered under him). b undergoing (is under repair). c classified or subsumed in (that book goes under biology; goes under many names).
4 at the foot of or sheltered by (hid under the wall; under the cliff).
5 planted with (a crop).
6 powered by (sail, steam, etc.).
7 following (another player in a card game).
8 archaic attested by (esp. under one's hand and seal = signature).
--adv.
1 in or to a lower position or condition (kept him under).
2 colloq. in or into a state of unconsciousness (put him under for the operation).
--adj. lower (the under jaw).

Idiom

under age see AGE. under one's arm see ARM(1). under arms see ARM(2). under one's belt see BELT. under one's breath see BREATH. under canvas see CANVAS. under a cloud see CLOUD. under control see CONTROL. under the counter see COUNTER(1). under cover see COVER n. 4. under fire see FIRE. under foot see FOOT. under hatches see HATCH(1). under a person's nose see NOSE. under the rose see ROSE(1). under separate cover in another envelope. under the sun anywhere in the world. under water in and covered by water. under way in motion; in progress. under the weather see WEATHER.

Derivative

undermost adj.

Etymology

OE f. Gmc

THESAURUS

Under

answerable to, at a disadvantage, at the nadir, below, below deck, below par, below the mark, belowstairs, beneath, collateral, dependent, down, down below, downstairs, drunk, earlier, high, impaired, in the gutter, inferior, infra, least, least of all, less, lesser, low, lower, lowest, neath, nether, out of sight, secondary, short of, sub, subjacent, subject, subordinate to, tipsy, tributary, under par, under the influence, underfoot, underneath, underwater

ROGET THESAURUS

Under

Inferiority

N inferiority, minority, subordinacy, shortcoming, deficiency, minimum, smallness, imperfection, lower quality, lower worth, commonalty, inferior, smaller, small, minor, less, lesser, deficient, minus, lower, subordinate, secondary, secondrate, sub, subaltern, thrown into the shade, weighed in the balance and found wanting, not fit to hold a candle to, can't hold a candle to, least, smallest &c (little) (small), lowest, diminished, reduced, unimportant, less, under the mark, below the mark, below par, at the bottom of the scale, at a low ebb, at a disadvantage, short of, under.

Subjection

N subjection, dependence, dependency, subordination, thrall, thralldom, thraldom, enthrallment, subjugation, bondage, serfdom, feudalism, feudality, vassalage, villenage, slavery, enslavement, involuntary servitude, conquest, service, servitude, servitorship, tendence, employ, tutelage, clientship, liability, constraint, oppression, yoke, submission, obedience, subject, dependent, subordinate, feudal, feudatory, in subjection to, under control, in leading strings, in harness, subjected, enslaved, constrained, downtrodden, overborne, overwhelmed, under the lash, on the hip, led by the nose, henpecked, the puppet of, the sport of, the plaything of, under one's orders, under one's command, under one's thumb, a slave to, at the mercy of, in the power of, in the hands of, in the clutches of, at the feet of, at one's beck and call, liable, parasitical, stipendiary, under, slaves - in a land of light and law.

Lowness

N lowness, debasement, depression, prostration, depression, molehill, lowlands, basement floor, ground floor, rez de chaussee, cellar, hold, bilge, feet, heels, low water, low tide, ebb tide, neap tide, spring tide, low, neap, debased, nether, nether most, flat, level with the ground, lying low, crouched, subjacent, squat, prostrate, under, beneath, underneath, below, downwards, adown, at the foot of, under foot, under ground, down stairs, below stairs, at a low ebb, below par.