underscore

play

verb un·der·score \ˈən-dər-ˌskȯr\

Definition of underscore

transitive verb
1 : to draw a line under : underline
2 : to make evident : emphasize, stress arrived early to underscore the importance of the occasion
3 : to provide (action on film) with accompanying music

See underscore defined for English-language learners

See underscore defined for kids

Examples of underscore in a Sentence

These failures underscore the difficulty of what we're attempting to do.
The President's visit underscores the administration's commitment to free trade.
She underscored the most important points.

Recent Examples of underscore from the Web

This is underscored by a spending bill recently passed by Congress that includes the Rohrbacher-Blumenauer amendment.

— olivia fleming, Harper's BAZAAR, "Chelsea Leyland's Big Crusade for Cannabis", 5 July 2017
Yet the deal's price tag also underscores the costs and the challenges of running a digital-only grocery.

— alexander coolidge, Cincinnati.com, "How Kroger can combat Amazon's onslaught", 4 July 2017
Underscoring the challenge facing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), speaking on the same Sunday show, also voiced concerns with the bill — but for entirely different reasons.

— david weigel, Washington Post, "Senate Republicans face key week as more lawmakers waver in support for health-care bill", 25 June 2017
The account last month underscored Kushner’s unusual role in the Trump White House.

— matt ford, The Atlantic, "Why Is Robert Mueller Probing Jared Kushner's Finances?", 15 June 2017
Rodriguez’s case underscores the difficulty in firing police officers who have not been charged for any crimes – and the city’s woeful track record in making them stick.

— david ovalle, miamiherald, "When Miami fires cops, they usually get their jobs back — even if they’re murder suspects", 10 June 2017
Democrats said the new stories underscore their belief that Trump fired Comey in order to shut down the Russia probe.

— kevin johnson, The Courier-Journal, "Comey, called 'nut job' by Trump, to testify in open session before Senate", 19 May 2017
Or maybe Seeley’s classification will be underscored as most representative of dinosaur relationships, after all.

— brian switek, Scientific American Blog Network, "Shaking the Dinosaur Family Tree", 15 May 2017
Moving the location underscores our message that this epidemic knows no ZIP code.

— erika butler, The Aegis, "Harford targets young athletes in anti-heroin billboard campaign", 5 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'underscore'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of underscore

1771

Other Printing Terms

epigraph, errata, leader, mechanical, notch, tittle, widow

underscore

noun un·der·score

Definition of underscore

1 : a line drawn under a word or line especially for emphasis or to indicate intent to italicize
2 : music accompanying the action and dialogue of a film