underground
underground Lexical Profile
underground Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Situated, occurring, or operating beneath the surface of the earth.
"Workers spent months mapping the ancient underground tunnels beneath the historic district."
Relating to experimental, unconventional, or non-commercial artistic and cultural movements outside the mainstream.
"The small downtown venue is famous for hosting underground music acts and independent filmmakers."
Relating to or denoting a group or movement that operates in secret, often in opposition to an established political or legal system.
"An underground press circulated banned literature throughout the country during the occupation."
• adverb
Beneath the surface of the ground.
"Many desert mammals burrow underground during the day to escape the intense heat."
Into secrecy or hiding, especially to evade authorities or political persecution.
"The dissident journalists were forced to go underground after the new censorship laws were enacted."
• noun
British An electric railway system that operates primarily in tunnels below the surface of a city.
"Taking the underground is usually the fastest way to travel across central London during rush hour."
A secret organization or movement working to subvert or resist an existing political regime or occupying force.
"Members of the underground risked their lives to smuggle refugees across the border."
The space or region directly beneath the surface of the earth.
"Geologists use seismic waves to study rock formations deep in the underground."
A subculture or movement of experimental artists, writers, or musicians operating outside commercial mainstream culture.
"Several iconic styles of modern graphic design first emerged from the artistic underground of the 1960s."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in the 16th century as a compound of the preposition 'under' and the noun 'ground', originally used as an adverb before developing into an adjective and noun.