Oxford Business English Dictionary for Learners of English

undercut /..mda'kAt; AmE -dar'k-/ verb [+ obj] undercutting, undercut, undercut

to sell goods or services at a lower price than your competitors: The bank says it will undercut rivals' rates and services, о The scale of the company allows them to undercut prices.

to make sth weaker or less likely to be effective: Unions claim that the legislation undercuts workers' rights.

underdeveloped /.Andadi'velapt; AmE -dard-/ adjective

1 about a country, society, etc.) having few industries and a low standard of living:

underdeveloped countriesСЫН 'Developing countries' is now the usual term used. 2 not developed to a very high level or standard: Telecommunications systems in the region remain underdeveloped.

developed, developing, undeveloped

.underdevelopment noun [U]: the underdevelopment of internal transport systems

underemployed /.Andarim'ploid/ adjective not having enough work to do; not having work that makes full use of your skills and abilities: When the contract ended the company was left with an office full of expensive, underemployed talent.

underestimate verb, noun

verb /,Andar'estimeit/ [+ obj]

to think or guess that the amount, cost or size of sth is smaller than it really is: They grossly underestimated the costs involved, о The scale of the challenge we face should not be underestimated.

to not realize how good, strong, determined, etc. sb really is: It would be unwise to underestimate our rivals.

[oppl overestimate

underestimation /.Andar.esti'meijn/ noun [C,U]: a serious underestimation of the costs

noun /.Andar'estimat/ [C]

an estimate about the size, cost, etc. of sth that is too low: The figure of 20 bn is probably a serious underestimate of the costs.

underfunded /.Anda'fAndid; AmE-dar'f-/ adjective

{Finance) (about an organization, a project, etc.) not having as much money to spend as it needs: The company's pension plan was underfunded by $2 million. [opEoverfunded

under funding noun [u]

the .underground e conomy = black

economy

underinsured /.Andarin'Joid; -'Sodd; AmE-'Surd/ adjective (Insurance)

(about a person) not having enough insurance: an underinsured motorist о attempts to increase health coverage for the underinsured

(about a thing) insured for less than it is worth: an underinsured vehicle

.underinsurance noun [u]

under in vestment noun [u] (Finance) the fact of less money being invested in sth than is needed: The chain of stores has suffered from years of under-investment. о underinvestment in plant and people IoppI over-investment

.under-in'vest verb [no obj]: We have been under- investing in this brand, .under-in'vested adjective: Many funds are under-invested.

underlying /.Anda'laiirj; AmE -dar'l-/ adjective

important in a situation but not always easily noticed or stated clearly: The underlying assumption is that the amount of money available is limited, о The underlying cause of the crisis was a lack of investment.

(Economics; Finance) used to describe basic figures, rates, etc. excluding any special effect, event or payment: Underlying sales growth rose 4.5%. о an increase in underlying pre-tax profits

(Finance) used to describe the items that particular types of investments are based on: The value of derivatives depends on the value or change in value of an underlying security, о underlying shares/ stock/bonds/assets

underlying in flationnoun [u](Economics) the rate at which the prices of goods and services rise over a period of time, measured without considering prices that go up and down frequently, especially the costs of mortgages:

583 under-report

Underlying inflation, which excludes food, energy and mortgage costs, rose by 0.1 per cent last month.

headline inflation

undermanned /.Anda'maend; AmE-dar'm-/ adjective