1Beneath the surface of the ground.

1. 1.1 In or into secrecy or hiding, especially as a result of carrying out subversive political activities.
   many were forced to go underground by the government

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Harsh persecution pushed many underground and into rural hideaways.
   • You know, just in case I might really need to go underground some day.
   • Once we decided to go underground we had to find money and food and the means to carry out the actions.
   • Not only would this drive its members and sympathisers underground, it would have a major impact on the organisation's ability to raise funds.
   • Natural disasters can be a threat to the growing expansion of big cities underground.
   • The state, like much of the nation as a whole, had a long history of underground industrial activity, especially in times of civil and military conflict.
   • In such settings, workers are less likely to seek health services and are more likely to conduct their services underground.
   • The government pushed the scene back underground, the only way we are all gonna move this forward is if we come together and come strong.
   • The first lift carries visitors underground to what is called the world's biggest salmon stream.

   Synonyms

   into hiding, into secrecy, into seclusion, undercover, behind closed doors, out of sight

1Situated beneath the surface of the ground.

1. 1.1 Relating to or denoting the secret activities of people working to subvert an established order.
   Czech underground literature

   Example sentencesExamples

   • You're lying, they were told - wasn't he a part of some secret underground resistance cell?
   • Men usually contact other men, who then contract someone engaged in other underground activities and who may lend money at weekly interest rates.
   • I had read in the reports that there was a resistance movement, an underground resistance movement.
   • He has slept in six different houses in six nights as he adjusts to life as an underground political figure.
   • In early 1861, underground resistance and open defiance were rampant in that state.
   • The French retaliated by forming an underground resistance movement.
   • An underground group of renegade democrats are attempting to establish a free election to determine the fate of their country.
   • He had been involved with underground Marxist publications during the thirties.
   • The police state that they have no yet found the person responsible for this act, but it is suspected to be related to a secret underground society.
   • She was a young 21-year-old underground activist working for the Polish resistance movement and acted as a runner/messenger.
   • The reality is that, before decriminalisation, most of the activity was underground, outside the law, and not counted.
   • He became an underground activist when he was a 20 year old student.
   • Today, imprisoned underground activists continue to write of this subjugated history from the cells that hold them.
   • She became active in the underground socialist movement in her mid-teens while she was at high school.
   • They've learnt to band together in secret underground groups, occasionally breaking out to form pressure groups demanding action against prejudice and misguided legislation.
   • One day, I noticed some of my classmates were nowhere to be seen, and it was said that they were taken away by secret police for underground political activities.
   • If the worst happens, I'll start an underground blogging movement with secret servers in people's attics.
   • She also discovers the existence of a subversive underground nationalist organization.
   • You must be willing to be part of this secret underground movement.
   • He even argued with anarchist friends for the establishment of an underground organisation to continue illegal anti-war propaganda once conflict broke out.

   Synonyms

   clandestine, secret, surreptitious, covert, undercover, private, confidential, closet, hole-and-corner, cloak-and-dagger, hugger-mugger, back-alley, backstair, stealthy, conspiratorial, concealed, hidden, shrouded

   sneaky, sly, underhand, shifty, furtive

   resistance, subversive, guerrilla, mercenary, revolutionary, rebellious, dissident, insurgent, insurrectionary, renegade, mutinous

   Military black

   informal hush-hush
2. 1.2 Relating to or denoting a group or movement seeking to explore alternative forms of lifestyle or artistic expression; radical and experimental.
   the New York underground art scene

   Example sentencesExamples

   • VJ art is the rapidly growing underground arts movement where artists manipulate video in the same way DJs mix records.
   • We wanted to seek out all the leaders in the underground scene to do reggae and Latin music.
   • Breakdancing, since its conception in the early seventies in New York has been largely ignored by the media but is thriving as a subculture sport and underground art form.
   • A boy, a young boy, lost and directionless, finds refuge and comfort in art, in underground movies.
   • Matthew has vivid memories of one of his first underground experiences.
   • Representing the young generation of photographers she presented her documentation of the underground art world.
   • The campaign's first round of ads were subtle, and looked more like they were introducing a new band or an underground art project than a health message.
   • Like a record company or an underground art movement, they launched a street team.
   • Having been involved in underground music and arts scenes, I came into the game late.
   • ‘When we go across these two great countries, we notice that there is a huge underground scene for streetpunk,’ McKinnon says.
   • He writes about the alternative music scene for an underground magazine, and hangs out with the likes of rappers and punk bands.
   • Within the hip-hop community he is unmatched in the amount of authority and respect he commands among both industry heads and underground artists.
   • Certainly, one of the most immediate and popular art forms where underground culture has influenced the mainstream is music and dance.
   • As an underground lifestyle person, the opinions are interesting.
   • Waters managed to get his films screened in New York, where they soon became mandatory viewing for those in the underground art scene.
   • In a similar spirit, you might not expect to find an impressive repository of underground art and comics in a place that most city folks would consider the middle of nowhere.
   • The subject matter, style and revolutionary nature of the underground art scene of the 60's would forever change the media of the future generations.
   • There was a renewed interest in underground art.
   • Overall, this disc is so much fun and evokes so much emotion and includes so much talent and thought, it is a must have indie release for fans of newer radio rock and the underground scene alike.
   • Their latest album is one of the most captivating albums around and has created a buzz in the underground music scene.

   Synonyms

   alternative, radical, revolutionary, unconventional, unorthodox, avant-garde, experimental, innovative, groundbreaking, pioneering, novel

   subversive

1British An underground railway, especially the one in London.

2A group or movement organized secretly to work against an existing regime.

1. 2.1Indian A member of an underground political group or movement.
   they appealed to the undergrounds to stop their violent activities

3A group or movement seeking to explore alternative forms of lifestyle or artistic expression.

Lay (cables) below ground level.