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.
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
Synonyms
Adverb
Preposition
Examples of beneath in a Sentence
Adverb
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.
Preposition
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 on the Web
Craig Merrett, Discover Magazine, 25 Mar. 2024
Like the butterfly itself, the style features shorter, face-framing layers around the face (like the butterfly’s top wings) and then longer layers beneath, like the lower wings.
—Hannah Coates, Vogue, 2 Apr. 2024
While touting her office’s minimalist design, Kardashian specifically praises a sleek, large-scale wooden table with a set of matching chairs that are perfectly sized to slide beneath — creating a piece resembling less a dining table and more a brutalist sculpture.
—Leah Asmelash, CNN, 29 Mar. 2024
The main span of the Key Bridge, the one that flew high above the river allowing passage to ships beneath, sat on its four piers like a bird.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024
Its height meant massive container ships like the Dali could pass safely beneath.
—USA TODAY, 27 Mar. 2024
This can be tricky as the seed beneath can easily be damaged.
—Melinda Myers, Journal Sentinel, 22 Mar. 2024
Schreiber’s gruff, salt-of-the-earth Flynn lacks a threatening underside, like a rock without worms squirming beneath.
—Naveen Kumar, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024
The scanners used high-energy X-rays to look past the organism’s scales, fur, or skin to view the dense bone structure beneath.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 6 Mar. 2024
Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 23 Apr. 2024
Hamas, Israel maintains, uses civilian structures as shields, operating in them or in tunnels beneath them—perhaps precisely because such buildings have been considered off-limits for military operations under international law.
—Oona A. Hathaway, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
This thrust is fed by a 116 kWh battery, which is stacked in the floor beneath the cabin.
—Brett Berk, Robb Report, 23 Apr. 2024
There’s even a storage cubby beneath the central armrest that can be cooled to –6 degrees Celsius or heated to 50 degrees Celsius (21 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit).
—Alistair Charlton, WIRED, 19 Apr. 2024
Tens of thousands of tourists stop off Interstate 24 each year to pose beneath a 15-foot Superman statue at the center of town, to attend the summertime Superman Celebration, or to browse one of the world’s largest collections of Superman paraphernalia at the Super Museum.
—Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News, 18 Apr. 2024
Quality components and attention to detail, like marking the weight of each bait beneath its head, are what sets the Jack Hammer apart from the rest of the pack.
—Shaye Baker, Field & Stream, 17 Apr. 2024
Christmas is a few weeks away, and there’s a spectacular tree beneath the massive dome, flanked by murals of white settlers and Indigenous Americans.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
To obtain the copper ore, Resolution will use a method known as block cave mining, in which tunnels are drilled beneath the ore body, and then collapsed, leaving the ore to be moved to a crushing facility.
—The Arizona Republic, 15 Apr. 2024
Adverb
Or to look at it another way, air travels faster over the top of the airfoil than beneath.
—Craig Merrett, Discover Magazine, 25 Mar. 2024
Like the butterfly itself, the style features shorter, face-framing layers around the face (like the butterfly’s top wings) and then longer layers beneath, like the lower wings.
—Hannah Coates, Vogue, 2 Apr. 2024
While touting her office’s minimalist design, Kardashian specifically praises a sleek, large-scale wooden table with a set of matching chairs that are perfectly sized to slide beneath — creating a piece resembling less a dining table and more a brutalist sculpture.
—Leah Asmelash, CNN, 29 Mar. 2024
The main span of the Key Bridge, the one that flew high above the river allowing passage to ships beneath, sat on its four piers like a bird.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024
Its height meant massive container ships like the Dali could pass safely beneath.
—USA TODAY, 27 Mar. 2024
This can be tricky as the seed beneath can easily be damaged.
—Melinda Myers, Journal Sentinel, 22 Mar. 2024
Schreiber’s gruff, salt-of-the-earth Flynn lacks a threatening underside, like a rock without worms squirming beneath.
—Naveen Kumar, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024
The scanners used high-energy X-rays to look past the organism’s scales, fur, or skin to view the dense bone structure beneath.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 6 Mar. 2024
Preposition
Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 23 Apr. 2024
Hamas, Israel maintains, uses civilian structures as shields, operating in them or in tunnels beneath them—perhaps precisely because such buildings have been considered off-limits for military operations under international law.
—Oona A. Hathaway, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
This thrust is fed by a 116 kWh battery, which is stacked in the floor beneath the cabin.
—Brett Berk, Robb Report, 23 Apr. 2024
There’s even a storage cubby beneath the central armrest that can be cooled to –6 degrees Celsius or heated to 50 degrees Celsius (21 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit).
—Alistair Charlton, WIRED, 19 Apr. 2024
Tens of thousands of tourists stop off Interstate 24 each year to pose beneath a 15-foot Superman statue at the center of town, to attend the summertime Superman Celebration, or to browse one of the world’s largest collections of Superman paraphernalia at the Super Museum.
—Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News, 18 Apr. 2024
Quality components and attention to detail, like marking the weight of each bait beneath its head, are what sets the Jack Hammer apart from the rest of the pack.
—Shaye Baker, Field & Stream, 17 Apr. 2024
Christmas is a few weeks away, and there’s a spectacular tree beneath the massive dome, flanked by murals of white settlers and Indigenous Americans.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
To obtain the copper ore, Resolution will use a method known as block cave mining, in which tunnels are drilled beneath the ore body, and then collapsed, leaving the ore to be moved to a crushing facility.
—The Arizona Republic, 15 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'beneath.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near beneath
Cite this Entry
“Beneath.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beneath. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
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