subterranean
adjective
sub·ter·ra·nean
ˌsəb-tə-ˈrā-nē-ən 
-nyən
variants
or less commonly subterraneous
ˌsəb-tə-ˈrā-nē-əs
-nyəs
1
: being, lying, or operating under the surface of the earth
2
: existing or working in secret : hidden
a subterranean network of criminals
subterraneanly
adverb
or less commonly subterraneously
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Go Underground With Subterranean
A tunnel is a subterranean road or pathway, and a subway is a subterranean railway. The subterranean vaults at Fort Knox hold billions of dollars of gold reserves. Subterranean reservoirs called aquifers are tapped for water; in places where the pressure on the subterranean water is great enough, a hole drilled in the ground will bring it bubbling to the surface.
Examples of subterranean in a Sentence
a subterranean bunker that supposedly could withstand even an atomic blast
Recent Examples on the Web
This zone lasts up to three months per application and guides foraging subterranean termites to bait stations.
—
Jason Phillips, USA Today, 1 May 2025
Raphael Martinez Cohen and Ryan Bush’s basement studio in Maspeth, Queens, feels a bit like a grotto, with shimmering panels propped up against subterranean walls.
—Hannah Martin, Architectural Digest, 30 Apr. 2025
Nearly the entire musical, which is now being revived at Lincoln Center, therefore unfolds with our hero stuck fast inside one of the earth’s narrow pockets, his dwindling awareness reaching out toward the glittering, subterranean volumes all around him.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor is an evil mad scientist with plans for destruction and domination, armed with Kryptonite and a subterranean lair shared.
—Mark Hughes, Forbes.com, 26 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subterranean
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Jason Phillips, USA Today, 1 May 2025
Raphael Martinez Cohen and Ryan Bush’s basement studio in Maspeth, Queens, feels a bit like a grotto, with shimmering panels propped up against subterranean walls.
—Hannah Martin, Architectural Digest, 30 Apr. 2025
Nearly the entire musical, which is now being revived at Lincoln Center, therefore unfolds with our hero stuck fast inside one of the earth’s narrow pockets, his dwindling awareness reaching out toward the glittering, subterranean volumes all around him.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor is an evil mad scientist with plans for destruction and domination, armed with Kryptonite and a subterranean lair shared.
—Mark Hughes, Forbes.com, 26 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subterranean
Cite this Entry
“Subterranean.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subterranean. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
subterranean
adjective
sub·ter·ra·nean
ˌsəb-tə-ˈrā-nē-ən
-nyən
1
: being, lying, or operating under the surface of the earth
2
: existing or working in secret : hidden
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