underground

See also Underground

English

Etymology

under +‎ ground

Adjective

underground (comparative more underground, superlative most underground)

1. (not comparable) Below the ground; below the surface of the Earth.

   There is an underground tunnel that takes you across the river.

2. Hidden, furtive, secretive.

   These criminals operate through an underground network.

3. Of music, art, etc, outside the mainstream.

Synonyms

• (below the ground): subterranean
• (hidden): clandestine, hidden, hush-hush, secret
• (outside the mainstream): avant-garde, unconventional

Translations

below the ground

Catalan: subterrani (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 地下 (cmn) (dìxià) Czech: podzemní (cs) Dutch: ondergronds (nl) Esperanto: subtera (eo) Finnish: maanalainen (fi) French: souterrain (fr) m., souterraine (fr) f. German: unterirdisch, Untergrund- Greek: υπόγειος (el) (ypógeios) m.

Icelandic: neðanjarðar (is) Italian: sotterraneo (it) m., sotterranea (it) f. Japanese: 地下 (ja) (chika) Portuguese: subterrâneo (pt) m., subterrânea (pt) f. Romanian: subteran (ro) m. and n. Russian: подземный (ru) (podz'émnyj) Serbo-Croatian: podzemno (sh) Spanish: subterráneo (es) m., subterránea (es) f. Yiddish: אונטערגרונט (yi) (untergrunt)

hidden, furtive

Catalan: subterrani (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 地下 (cmn) (dìxià) Dutch: ondergronds (nl) Finnish: maanalainen (fi)

French: souterrain (fr) m., souterraine (fr) f., clandestin (fr) m., clandestine (fr) f. Greek: υπόγειος (el) (ypógeios) m., μυστικός (el) (mystikós) m. Italian: clandestino (it) Russian: подпольный (ru) (podpól'nyj) Serbo-Croatian: prikriveno (sh), potajno (sh)

outside the mainstream

Chinese: Mandarin: 非主流 (cmn) (fēi zhǔliú) Finnish: underground (fi) French: underground (fr) m. and f. pl.

German: Untergrund- Greek: υπόγειος (el) (ypógeios) m. Russian: андерграунд (ru) (andergráund) (indeclinable) Serbo-Croatian: podzemno (sh)

Adverb

underground (comparative more underground, superlative most underground)

1. Below the ground.

   The tunnel goes underground at this point.

2. Secretly.

Synonyms

• (below the ground): below ground
• (secretly): clandestinely, in secret, on the quiet

Translations

below the ground

Chinese: Mandarin: 地下 (cmn) (dìxià) Finnish: maan alla French: sous terre, sous la terre German: unter der Erde, unterirdisch

Greek: υπόγεια (el) (ypógeia) Icelandic: neðanjarðar (is) Italian: sottoterra (it) Navajo: łeeyiʼ Russian: под землёй

Noun

underground (plural undergrounds)

Wikipedia

1. (chiefly UK) An underground railway.
2. (with "the") A movement or organisation of people who resist political convention.
3. (with "the") A movement or organisation of people who resist artistic convention.

Synonyms

• (underground railway): metro, métro (the underground railway of Paris), subway (US), Tube (British - the underground railway of London)
• (movement or organisation of people who resist political convention): resistance
• (movement or organisation of people who resist artistic convention): avant-garde, counter-culture

Translations

underground railway — see underground railway

movement or organisation of people who resist political convention

Armenian: ընդհատակ (hy) (əndhatak) Finnish: vastarintaliike (fi) French: résistance f., mouvement clandestin m., organisation clandestine f. German: Untergrundorganisation f. Italian: resistenza f., movimento clandestino m., organizzazione clandestina f.

Portuguese: organização clandestina f. Romanian: mișcare clandestină (ro), organizație clandestină (ro) Russian: подполье (ru) (podpól'je) n. Spanish: movimiento clandestino m., organización clandestina f.

movement or organisation of people who resist artistic convention

French: l'underground m., mouvement d'avant-garde m. Italian: l'underground m.

Russian: андерграунд (ru) (andergráund) m.

Verb

underground (third-person singular simple present undergrounds, present participle undergrounding, simple past and past participle undergrounded)

1. To route electricity distribution cables underground
   • 1962, David Pesonen, “Battles Over Energy”, in Carolyn Merchant editor, Green Versus Gold: Sources in California's Environmental History^[1], Island Press, ISBN 9781559635806, published 1998, page 325:

     One is to underground where no other alternative will work, and this method should be used universally in urban regions as it now is in “downtown” sections.

   • 2004, Don L. Ivey and C. Paul Scott, “Solutions”, in Transportation Research Board Committee on Utilities editor, Utilities and Roadside Safety^[2], State of the Art Report 9, Transportation Research Board, ISBN 9780309094511, page 9:

     Also, undergrounding may not eliminate the potential for crashes with other roadside objects, such as trees, walls, buildings, and so forth. [...] When looking at the fesibility of undergrounding utilities, the complete roadside area and nearby adjacent properties should be evaluated for potential roadside obstructions or hazards.

   • 2006, Janes Northcote-Green, Robert Wilson, “Design, Construction and Operation of Distribution Systems, MV Networks”, in Control and Automation of Electrical Power Distribution Systems^[3], CRC Press, ISBN 9780824726317, page 110:

     The utility now wants the network to be undergrounded in the urban areas, which would mean substations with 33 kV distribution swtichgear.

Translations

to route electricity distribution cables underground

See also

• underground railway
• go underground

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA: /œ̃.dɛʁ.ɡʁawnd/, SAMPA: /9~.dER.gRawnd/

Adjective

underground m. and f. inv.

1. underground (outside the mainstream)

Noun

underground m. sg.

1. (singular only)the underground (people who resist artistic convention)

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Italian

Noun

l'underground m. inv.

1. the underground (people who resist artistic convention)