I. un ‧ der ‧ neath 1 S2 /ˌʌndəˈniːθ $ -ər-/ BrE AmE preposition , adverb
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: underneothan , from under + neothan 'below' ]
1 . directly under another object or covered by it:
He got out of the car and looked underneath.
It’s near where the railway goes underneath the road.
She was wearing a smart jacket with a T-shirt underneath.
Her blonde hair was hidden underneath a baseball cap.
2 . on the lower surface of something:
The car was rusty underneath.
A number had been painted underneath the table.
3 . used to say what someone’s character is really like when their behaviour shows a different character:
She seems confident, but she’s really quite shy underneath.
I think he’s a genuinely nice guy underneath it all.
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THESAURUS
▪ under something that is under something else has that thing directly above it or covering it:
The pen was under the desk.
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She had a T-shirt on under her sweater.
▪ below in a lower position than something else, though not always directly under it:
From the cliffs we could barely see the people on the beach below us.
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His apartment is below ours on the left.
▪ underneath under – used especially to emphasize that something covers, touches, or hides something:
The girls wear shorts underneath their cheerleading skirts.
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I found the book underneath the sofa.
▪ beneath formal under or at a lower level:
They strolled hand in hand beneath the summer moon.
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The water lies just beneath the surface of the earth.
II. underneath 2 BrE AmE noun British English
the underneath the bottom surface of something, or the part of something that is below or under something else SYN the underside :
We need to paint the underneath with a rust preventer.