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
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
As the Bell & Ross diver bronze encounters oxygen over time, an oxidized copper coating forms on its surface, preserving the integrity of the material beneath while bestowing each bronze diver with a distinctive character.
—Bhanu Chopra, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
Genevieve Monsma, Vogue, 11 Apr. 2024
Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2024
But beneath the sprawling grasslands and charming hiking trails, decomposing waste continues to generate methane gas.
—Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
In 2022, the current owners of the 10 West Tasman building paid $30 million for the property, including buying the structure and a ground lease for the land beneath the building, according to public real estate records.
—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2024
The ground rumbled Friday beneath New York City, home to famous skyscrapers like the Empire State Building and One World Trade Center.
—Philip Marcelo, Fortune, 6 Apr. 2024
As the fiery mango of the subtropical setting sun makes Miami’s condo skyline even more apocalyptic, the ship shoves off beneath a perfunctory display of fireworks.
—Gary Shteyngart, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2024
Shocking footage reached viewers across the globe as first responders toiled among steel and concrete beneath the water that the landmark span once bridged.
—Ramon Padilla, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2024
Inspectors saw grease accumulation in various locations in the Korean barbecue restaurant, including the floor beneath the second cook line, beneath storage racks, beneath the ice machine and inside the walk in cooler.
—Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 29 Mar. 2024
Adverb
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
As the Bell & Ross diver bronze encounters oxygen over time, an oxidized copper coating forms on its surface, preserving the integrity of the material beneath while bestowing each bronze diver with a distinctive character.
—Bhanu Chopra, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
Preposition
The decrease in elasticity can also enable fat beneath the eyes to puff forward, accentuating eye bags.
—Genevieve Monsma, Vogue, 11 Apr. 2024
Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2024
But beneath the sprawling grasslands and charming hiking trails, decomposing waste continues to generate methane gas.
—Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
In 2022, the current owners of the 10 West Tasman building paid $30 million for the property, including buying the structure and a ground lease for the land beneath the building, according to public real estate records.
—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2024
The ground rumbled Friday beneath New York City, home to famous skyscrapers like the Empire State Building and One World Trade Center.
—Philip Marcelo, Fortune, 6 Apr. 2024
As the fiery mango of the subtropical setting sun makes Miami’s condo skyline even more apocalyptic, the ship shoves off beneath a perfunctory display of fireworks.
—Gary Shteyngart, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2024
Shocking footage reached viewers across the globe as first responders toiled among steel and concrete beneath the water that the landmark span once bridged.
—Ramon Padilla, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2024
Inspectors saw grease accumulation in various locations in the Korean barbecue restaurant, including the floor beneath the second cook line, beneath storage racks, beneath the ice machine and inside the walk in cooler.
—Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 29 Mar. 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 23 Apr. 2024.
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