26984 words

underground

9 definitions • 13 examples
1
below the surface of the earth; below ground:

Examples:

an underground cave/passage/cable
Moles live underground.
2
An underground activity is secret and usually illegal:

Examples:

an underground newspaper/movement
(go) underground The Communist Party was forced (to go) underground, and its leaders went into hiding.
3
a secret system, used in the 19th century, by which slaves (= people who had been sold and forced to work) in US states where slavery was legal were helped to escape to places where there was no slavery:

Examples:

They told us the stories of some of the main figures in the Underground Railroad.
4

Examples:

the London Underground
on the underground They went on the underground.
5
people in a society who are trying new and often shocking or illegal ways of living or forms of art:

Examples:

the underground In Britain and the USA in the 1970s, the underground was a powerful subversive force.
6
a group of people who secretly fight against the government:

Examples:

He was a member of the underground, harassing the invading army.
7
below the surface of the earth; below ground:

Examples:

an underground garage
8
Something that is done underground is secret or hidden, usually because it is not traditional or is shocking or illegal:

Examples:

an underground newspaper
Officials believe the sighting of the suspect may have forced him to go underground (= to become secret).
9
The underground is an organization that secretly works against those in power:

Examples:

He was a member of the French underground in World War II.

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