un·der·count | \ ˌən-dər-ˈkau̇nt 
\
\undercounted; undercounting; undercounts
Definition of undercount
: to count fewer than the actual number of
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Examples of undercount in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web Even now, virus deaths number in the hundreds each day, and official data may seriously undercount the toll.
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Nacha Cattan, Bloomberg.com, "AMLO Has a Grand Plan to Transform Mexico, on the Cheap," 29 Sep. 2020 But even that grim total was thought to greatly undercount the dead.
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Nathaniel Janowitz, New York Times, "Basketball Persists in Mexico Amid the Pandemic," 24 Sep. 2020 That prediction may well undercount the number of defaults on the horizon if policymakers don’t take aggressive action.
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Alexis Goldstein, The New Republic, "How to Save the Pandemic Generation," 21 Sep. 2020 With counting efforts set to end a month early, community organizers and others worry the census will undercount rural residents and minorities, including on Milwaukee's north and south sides.
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Sarah Volpenhein, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Census experts, community worry 'rushed' census will hurt Black, Latino communities," 9 Sep. 2020 The reports vastly undercount the actual number of infections — public health officials believe the number is probably 10 times that.
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Kellie Hwang, SFChronicle.com, "Bay Briefing: The case of the missing coronavirus data," 3 Aug. 2020 The high numbers were recorded despite a computer error that recently caused the state to undercount coronavirus cases.
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Peter Fimrite, SFChronicle.com, "Weekend heatwave will swell beach crowds — and coronavirus fears," 13 Aug. 2020 Experts say all those figures significantly undercount the true toll of the pandemic, due to limited testing and missed mild cases.
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Ken Moritsugu, The Denver Post, "Confirmed coronavirus cases hit 10 million worldwide," 28 June 2020 Deaths caused by the coronavirus are believed to be undercounted worldwide, due in large part to limits in testing and the different ways countries count the dead.
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CBS News, "Coronavirus death toll in NYC likely worse than official tally, CDC study says," 12 May 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'undercount.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Time Traveler for undercount
The first known use of undercount was in 1951
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