beneath

adverb be·neath \ bi-ˈnēth , bē- \

Updated on: 25 Mar 2018

Definition of beneath

1 : in or to a lower position : below

the mountains and the towns beneath

2 : directly under : underneath

Look at the illustration and read what is beneath.

See beneath defined for English-language learners

See beneath defined for kids

Examples of beneath in a Sentence

the mountains and the towns beneath
the sky above and the earth beneath
an awning with chairs and tables beneath
The ground beneath is covered with flowers.

Recent Examples of beneath from the Web

Of O’Connell Street in the rainy night and the warmth of Irish coffee with an inch of country cream floated on top and two fingers of John Powers snuggled beneath.

— stanton delaplane, San Francisco Chronicle, "Comes now upon us St. Patrick’s Day, Stanton Delaplane, 1953," 7 Mar. 2018
For religious believers, these sites and all that lies beneath are much more than just a scientific record, and the emotion attached to these sites is so strong that some visitors fall to their knees in awe and prayer.

— nina burleigh, Newsweek, "The Messiah Cometh: Hobby Lobby's Museum of the Bible Descends on the Nation's Capital," 7 Apr. 2016
The cages are elevated, set up so dog feces drops through gaps in the wire bottom, collecting in huge piles beneath.

— martin rogers, USA TODAY, "Inside the grim scene of a Korean dog meat farm, just miles from the Winter Olympics," 12 Feb. 2018
Boseman's last act, beneath all the special effects and cool gear, is nothing but terrific acting.

— jordan hoffman, Popular Mechanics, "'Black Panther' Is a Stunning Superhero Film Unlike Any Other," 7 Feb. 2018
The film is a dichotomy of idyllic suburban life juxtaposed with the dark world that lurks beneath.

— brittany martin, Los Angeles Magazine, "Best Picture Oscar Films as Cocktails, from the Bartender Who Makes Cocktails for the Oscars," 6 Feb. 2018
Rather than hidden under the shiny, Instagrammable installation of the Turbine Hall, though, the works in the Tanks seem to rumble beneath, powering the former gas tanks with a different kind of fuel.

— Vogue, "At the Tate Modern, Optimism Grows Underground," 12 Jan. 2018
Less familiar is William Zeckendorf’s 1945 Rooftop Airport, a $3 billion, 144-square-block platform airfield (with ocean-liner docks beneath) running from 24th Street to 71st Street.

— julie v. iovine, WSJ, "‘Never Built New York’ Review: The City That Could Have Been," 3 Oct. 2017
The dolphins swirled beneath and around us, in an elaborate, choreographed dance.

— michelle jarboe, cleveland.com, "On Hawaii's Big Island, humbled by nature's magnitude (photos)," 20 Dec. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'beneath.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of beneath

Middle English benethe, from Old English beneothan, from be- + neothan below; akin to Old English nithera nether — more at nether

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

beneath Synonyms

beneath

preposition

Definition of beneath

1 a : in or to a lower position than : below

beneath the surface

b : directly under

the ground beneath her feet

c : at the foot of

a camp beneath a hill

2 : not suitable to the rank of : unworthy of

a job that is beneath his dignity

3 : under the control, pressure, or influence of

the chair sagged beneath his weight

4 : concealed by : under the guise of

a warm heart beneath a gruff manner

See beneath defined for English-language learners

Examples of beneath in a Sentence

the sky above us and the earth beneath us
just beneath the surface of the water
The painting is hanging on the wall with a plaque beneath it.
We had a picnic beneath a large tree.
The paper was hidden beneath a pile of books.
She wore a sweater beneath her coat.

Recent Examples of beneath from the Web

Large depressions mar the surface of each, and both feature icy volcanoes possibly powered by liquid beneath the surface.

— nola taylor redd, Discover Magazine, "Pluto and Ceres: Long Lost Twins?," 10 Nov. 2017
Rover is one of a handful of pipelines set to open next year that will begin moving natural gas from the massive Marcellus and Utica shale formations that lie beneath parts of Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York.

— tim loh, Bloomberg.com, "Get Ready for an Appalachian Gas Bonanza," 3 Nov. 2017
At the close of the Apollo age, a year before the final moonwalk in 1972, a NASA researcher argued that vast tunnels lie beneath the lunar surface.

— avi selk, Washington Post, "A newly discovered moon tunnel could be the perfect place for a colony, scientists say," 21 Oct. 2017
Famed for its ancient Buddhist rock carvings, the city became China’s coal capital as demand for the energy resources that lay beneath its surface took off along with Chinese manufacturing in the 1980s.

— chris buckley, New York Times, "In China’s Coal Capital, Xi Jinping’s Dream Remains Elusive," 21 Oct. 2017
With the trees gone, grasses and bushes sprouted from seeds lying beneath the ash or brought in by animals or the wind.

— warren cornwall, Science | AAAS, "Why does this famous protector of trees now want to cut some down?," 5 Oct. 2017
But beneath the surface of this feud lies a much bigger problem: Tillerson reportedly doesn’t return calls from the White House.

— lisa ryan, The Cut, "Sorry, Rex Tillerson Can’t Come to the Phone Right Now. Why? Because He … Doesn’t Want To," 5 Oct. 2017
Perry, who is on a pop diva level with Beyonce, Madonna, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift, seems to be signaling an interest in moving beyond her bubbly buoyant pop confections of the past, to excavate some sort of truth and authenticity beneath it all.

— john adamian, courant.com, "Katy Perry Performing At Mohegan Sun," 13 Sep. 2017
But what lies beneath the floodwaters is becoming a growing concern, reports CBS News correspondent Omar Villafranca.

— CBS News, "Weeks after Harvey, floodwaters still pose threats to Houston residents," 12 Sep. 2017