un|der|ground

un|der|ground «adverb. _UHN duhr GROWND; adjective, noun, verb. UHN duhr _GROWND», adverb, adjective, noun, verb.

–adv.

1. beneath the surface of the ground: »

The mole burrowed underground. Miners work underground.

2. Figurative. a) in secrecy or concealment; concealed from the eyes of the public or authorities; surreptitiously: »

Spies work underground.

b) into secrecy or concealment: »

The thief went underground after the robbery.

–adj.

1. being, working, or used beneath the surface of the ground; subterranean: »

an underground passage.

2. Figurative. a) done or working secretly; concealed from the eyes of the public or some authority or authorities; secret; clandestine: »

The revolt against the government was an underground plot. Until recently people [in Spain] suspected of underground activity had been arrested and courtmartialed (Gerald Brenan).

b) of or having to do with the secret underground of a country: »

an underground headquarters. During the war he had been chosen, it was said, as the underground leader of a very wide area in the event of a successful German invasion (Geoffrey Household).

3. Figurative. of or belonging to any group, organization, or movement outside the established society or culture: »

the underground press, underground filmmakers, underground music, underground churches.

–n.

1. a place or space beneath the surface of the ground.

2. British. a subterranean railroad; subway.

3. Figurative. a secret organization working to overthrow an unpopular government, especially during military occupation: »

The French underground protected many American fliers shot down over France during World War II. We…fought side by side in the anti-Fascist underground (Atlantic).

4. any group, organization, or movement whose activities are outside the established society or culture: »

What these film makers, who proudly identify themselves as the “underground,” profess to want is the freedom to create motion pictures in accordance with their own, intensely personal artistic visions, untrammeled by anything that has gone before (Arthur Knight). The Catholic “underground” has removed worship from the sanctuary entirely and transferred it to private homes (New York Times).

–v.t.

to place or lay underground: »

The President's Conference on Natural Beauty specifically recommended widespread undergrounding of low voltage distribution lines (New York Times).

–un´der|ground´er, noun.