underbound

English

Etymology 1

under- +‎ bound

Verb

underbound (third-person singular simple present underbounds, present participle underbounding, simple past and past participle underbounded)

1. (mathematics) To provide a lower bound to.
   • 1968, Philip Martin Spira, On the Computational Complexity of Finite Functions, page 28:

     It will be seen that our computation time underbounds his; and that, in fact, we can give a group for which the difference in computation time is arbitrarily large.

2. To specify or use boundaries that are too small; to have boundaries that do not encompass the entirety of an entity.

   Antonym: overbound

   • 1975, James W. Clay, Douglas Milton Orr, Alfred Wright Stuart, North Carolina Atlas: Portrait of a Changing Southern State, page 58:

     The Urbanized Area is often considered the best measure of urban size because it neither "underbounds" the city (by taking just the political city) or "overbounds" it (including peripheral, largely rural areas).

   • 1978, A.I.D.C. Journal - Volumes 13-15, page 25:

     The corporate limits of a city, therefore, offer a political definition that commonly underbounds the geographic extent of the urban area.

   • 1994, Environment and Planning: Government & policy:

     When polity underbounds (that is, addresses a subspace within) the space affected by regional policy, the appraisal of development proposals is partial and vital interests go unrepresented.

Etymology 2

Verb

underbound

1. past participle of underbind