underwater

adjective

un·​der·​wa·​ter ˌən-dər-ˈwȯ-tər 

-ˈwä-

1

: lying, growing, worn, performed, or operating below the surface of the water

underwater plants

2

: being below the waterline of a ship

3

a

: having, relating to, or being a mortgage loan for which more is owed than the property securing the loan is worth

b

: having, relating to, or being a stock option for which the price of the option is higher than the current market value of the stock

underwater adverb

Synonyms

• aquatic
• submarine
• submerged
• sunken

Examples of underwater in a Sentence

underwater plants don't require as much light to grow as surface plants

a vessel designed for underwater exploration

Recent Examples on the Web

Off the shore of Naples, Italy, divers examined an underwater mosaic dated to around the third century C.E. —Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Dec. 2024

Among other things, Anduril will be supplying Australia with its Ghost Shark unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) as part of the deal. —William Hartung, Forbes, 26 Dec. 2024

In the underwater fight near the end, my first take was quite different than what ended up in the film. —Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 24 Dec. 2024

Prehistoric tools and ancient anchors were recently discovered during an underwater excavation of a 2,500-year-old shipwreck off the coast of Sicily. —Andrea Margolis, Fox News, 19 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1627, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

underwater

adjective

un·​der·​wa·​ter ˈən-dər-ˈwȯt-ər 

-ˈwät-

: lying, growing, worn, performed, or operating below the surface of the water

underwater plants

an underwater cave

underwater

-ˈwȯt-

-ˈwät-

adverb

Legal Definition

underwater

adjective

un·​der·​wa·​ter

1

: owing more on a mortgage loan than the property securing the loan is worth

underwater homeowners

2

: being or relating to a mortgage loan in which more is owed than the property securing the loan is worth

underwater mortgages

underwater properties