Oxford Business English Dictionary for Learners of English

(HR) not having enough people working and therefore not able to function well: The department is seriously undermanned. [synI understaffed

[opp] overmanned

.under'manning noun [u]: serious undermanning in maintenance and safety areas

undermentioned /.Anda'menjand; AmE -dar'm-/ noun (only used in written English) (abbr u/m) used to refer to sth that appears below or in a later part of a document: Applications are invited for the undermentioned vacancies.

underpaid /.Anda'peid; AmE-dar'p-/ adjective not paid enough for the work you do: The maintenance staff are grossly underpaid.

overpay

underpay /,Andd'pei; AmE-dar'p-/ verb (underpaid, underpaid /-'peid/)

[+ obj] (often be underpaid) to pay sb too little money, especially for their work: They have a reputation for underpaying their female staff, о I'm overworked and underpaid.

[+ obj or no obj] to pay too little for sth; to pay less than sth is worth: The acquirer has underpaid for the target firm, о He received a fine for underpaying his taxes.

[oppI overpay

.underpayment noun [C,u]

underperform /,Andapa'fo:m; AmE ,Andarpar'fo:rm/ verb

[+ obj or no obj] to not make as much money as expected or as sb/sth else: The US branch of the bank has been underperforming. о The company has underperformed its rivals for the last two years, о underperforming companies/stores о The stock has been downgraded to 'underperform'. in-line

[no obj] to be less successful in your job than expected: underperforming executives/managers

outperform

underperformance /-pa'fo:mans; AmE -par'fo:rmans/ noun [u] .underper'former noun [C]: The stock is rated as a market underperformer.

underpin /.Anda'pin; AmE -dar'p-/ verb [+ obj] (-nn-)

to provide a strong financial basis for sth: The company's investment programme has been underpinned.

to support or form the basis of an argument, a claim, etc: The report is underpinned by extensive research.

U nderpriced /.Anda'praist; AmE Andar'p-/ adjective

cheap; costing less than it is worth: underpriced exports/stock [oppI overpriced

.under'price verb [+ obj]

underproduction /.Andapra'dAkJan; AmE .Andarp-/ noun [u]

the fact that fewer goods, services, etc. are produced than are needed or than are planned: Underproduction results in lost sales. IoppI overproduction

underproduce /,Andapra'dju:s; AmE ,Andarpra'du:s/ verb [+ obj or no obj]: Several countries have underproduced their oil quota. .underpro'ducer noun [C]

under-re'port (AmEspellingunderreportj verb [+ obj]

(Accounting) to report or state a smaller amount of undersell зм

money, etc. than the real amount, especially for dishonest reasons: They devised a plan to under- report earnings by almost 100 million. Iopp! over- report understate

undersell /.Anda'sel; AmE -dar's-/ verb [+ obj] undersold, undersold /-'saold; ЛтЕ-'soold/)

(Commerce) to sell goods or services at a lower price than your competitors: They complain thatforeign companies are underselling them, о We arenever undersold (= our prices are the lowest).

(Commerce) to sell sth at a lower price than its real value: They were underselling their computers to gain a share of the market.

to make people think that sth is not as good or as interesting as it really is: Don't undersell yourself at the interview.

ioppJ oversell

ППП never .knowingly under'sold (Commerce) used by stores to advertise their policy of selling their products at lower prices than other stores. If you find the same product at a lower price somewhere else, the store will lower its own price to match.