Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

under|play /ʌ ndə ^r ple I / (underplays , underplaying , underplayed ) VERB If you underplay something, you make it seem less important than it really is. [mainly BRIT ] □ [V n] We often underplay the skills we have. □ [V n] The problem of corruption was, and still is, often underplayed. in AM, usually use play down

under|popu|lat|ed /ʌ ndə ^r pɒ pjʊle I t I d/ ADJ You describe a country or region as underpopulated when it could support a much larger population than it has. □  Many of the islands are mainly wild and underpopulated.

under|privi|leged /ʌ ndə ^r pr I v I l I dʒd/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Underprivileged people have less money and fewer possessions and opportunities than other people in their society. □  …helping underprivileged children to learn to read. □  …the hideous effects of government cuts on underprivileged families. ● N‑PLURAL The underprivileged are people who are underprivileged. □  …government plans to make more jobs available to the underprivileged.

under|rate /ʌ ndə ^r re I t/ (underrates , underrating , underrated ) VERB If you underrate someone or something, you do not recognize how clever, important, or significant they are. □ [V n] We women have a lot of good business skills, although we tend to underrate ourselves. □ [V n] He underrated the seriousness of William's head injury. ●  under|rat|ed ADJ [usu ADJ n] □  He is a very underrated poet.

under|score /ʌ ndə ^r skɔː ^r / (underscores , underscoring , underscored )

1 VERB If something such as an action or an event underscores another, it draws attention to the other thing and emphasizes its importance. [mainly AM ] □ [V n] The Labor Department figures underscore the shaky state of the economic recovery. [Also V that] in BRIT, usually use underline 2 VERB If you underscore something such as a word or a sentence, you draw a line underneath it in order to make people notice it or give it extra importance. [mainly AM ] □ [V n] He heavily underscored his note to Shelley. in BRIT, usually use underline

under|sea /ʌ ndə ^r siː/ ADJ [ADJ n] Undersea things or activities exist or happen below the surface of the sea. □  …an undersea pipeline running to Europe. □  …undersea exploration.

u nder-se cretary (under-secretaries ) also undersecretary N‑COUNT An under-secretary is a senior official with an important post in a government department. □  She served as under-secretary of state for health and social care.

under|shirt /ʌ ndə ^r ʃɜː ^r t/ (undershirts ) N‑COUNT An undershirt is a piece of clothing that you wear on the top half of your body next to your skin in order to keep warm. [AM ] □  He put on a pair of short pants and an undershirt. in BRIT, use vest

under|side /ʌ ndə ^r sa I d/ (undersides ) N‑COUNT The underside of something is the part of it which normally faces towards the ground. □ [+ of ] …the underside of the car.

under|signed /ʌ ndə ^r sa I nd/ ADJ [ADJ n] On a legal document, the undersigned people are the ones who have signed their names at the bottom of the document. [LEGAL ] □  The undersigned buyers agree to pay a 5,000 pound deposit. ● N‑PLURAL The undersigned are the people who have signed a legal document. □  …we the undersigned, all prominent doctors in our fields.