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
Then there’s the two subterranean lakes that have made the cave so iconic.
—
Megan Dubois, Southern Living, 23 Oct. 2025
The brutalist building has 11 rooms of varying sizes and views, but one standout suite is the subterranean bunker room with no windows.
—Susmita Baral, Travel + Leisure, 23 Oct. 2025
These will need to be fenced off while large international construction firms take on the challenges of rubble, explosives, bodies and collapsed subterranean tunnels before tall buildings can rise.
—Shelly Culbertson, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
Business leaders and boosters—if not the public library’s archivist—thought rumors and legends and sub-cellars, basements, coal chutes, and other subterranean utility spaces made for a marketable product.
—JSTOR Daily, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subterranean
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Megan Dubois, Southern Living, 23 Oct. 2025
The brutalist building has 11 rooms of varying sizes and views, but one standout suite is the subterranean bunker room with no windows.
—Susmita Baral, Travel + Leisure, 23 Oct. 2025
These will need to be fenced off while large international construction firms take on the challenges of rubble, explosives, bodies and collapsed subterranean tunnels before tall buildings can rise.
—Shelly Culbertson, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
Business leaders and boosters—if not the public library’s archivist—thought rumors and legends and sub-cellars, basements, coal chutes, and other subterranean utility spaces made for a marketable product.
—JSTOR Daily, 20 Oct. 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 25 Oct. 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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