un·der·score
ˈən-dər-ˌskȯr 
underscored; underscoring; underscores
3
: to provide (action on film) with accompanying music
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
Synonyms
Examples of underscore in a Sentence
Verb
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 on the Web
Jim Richberg, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023
Sierra Club of Hawaii Executive Director Wayne Tanaka said the video underscores potential damage to the reef.
—CBS News, 30 Nov. 2023
And to underscore his legitimacy beyond overseeing money from friends and family, Adrian’s private investment arm, C Capital, raised more than $250 million for its Private Equity Fund III to back emerging consumer and technology firms.
—Shawna Kwan, Fortune, 29 Nov. 2023
The punishment of Burke, who has opposed the pope’s leniency on divorce and his conciliatory approach to LGBTQ people, comes on the heels of the pope’s firing of another conservative critic, Texas Bishop Joseph Strickland, and underscores the tensions between Francis and the U.S. church.
—Francis X. Rocca, WSJ, 29 Nov. 2023
Democrats’ mobilization underscores the party’s advantage on health care.
—Mark Murray, NBC News, 28 Nov. 2023
The tension is underscored by the Three No's declaration made by the Arab League in September 1967 in Khartoum, Sudan: No peace, No recognition, and No negotiations with Israel.
—Maeghan Dolph, Fox News, 22 Nov. 2023
Food plainly is not only a necessity of humans, but something that really underscores the absurdity of segregation.
—Bon Appétit, 22 Nov. 2023
That’s an astounding figure, and one that underscores how much money Hollywood has committed to content production in recent years.
—Joe Otterson, Variety, 21 Nov. 2023
John Hopewell, Variety, 27 Oct. 2023
Meta’s Quest Pro and Apple’s upcoming Vision Pro underscore this shift in direction.
—IEEE Spectrum, 25 Aug. 2023
The new interim leadership team has clearly been empowered to make changes, as the programming overhaul underscores.
—Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Aug. 2023
Howe also collaborated closely with songwriter-producer Blake Mills on string arrangements for some of the songs, and occasionally interpolated the tunes into his underscore.
—Jon Burlingame, Variety, 2 June 2023
The mere fact that Allred is possibly his party’s top Senate challenger for 2024 underscores just how challenging the Senate map looks for Democrats next year.
—Ben Kamisar, NBC News, 4 May 2023
But the exodus of so many married couples-to-be underscores that the precipitous decline isn’t a temporary slump that will easily reverse course if the retailer is able to replenish its stocks of merchandise.
—Jeannette Neumann, Fortune, 16 Apr. 2023
But the accounts of the displaced underscore how unconventional this war actually is.
—Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2022
Cash prizes amounting to more than a $100,000 in total underscore the festival’s objective to incentivize more resident filmmakers and to encourage more films to be made in South Florida.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 3 Mar. 2023
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Verb
These constant changes underscore the need for collaboration.
—Jim Richberg, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023
Sierra Club of Hawaii Executive Director Wayne Tanaka said the video underscores potential damage to the reef.
—CBS News, 30 Nov. 2023
And to underscore his legitimacy beyond overseeing money from friends and family, Adrian’s private investment arm, C Capital, raised more than $250 million for its Private Equity Fund III to back emerging consumer and technology firms.
—Shawna Kwan, Fortune, 29 Nov. 2023
The punishment of Burke, who has opposed the pope’s leniency on divorce and his conciliatory approach to LGBTQ people, comes on the heels of the pope’s firing of another conservative critic, Texas Bishop Joseph Strickland, and underscores the tensions between Francis and the U.S. church.
—Francis X. Rocca, WSJ, 29 Nov. 2023
Democrats’ mobilization underscores the party’s advantage on health care.
—Mark Murray, NBC News, 28 Nov. 2023
The tension is underscored by the Three No's declaration made by the Arab League in September 1967 in Khartoum, Sudan: No peace, No recognition, and No negotiations with Israel.
—Maeghan Dolph, Fox News, 22 Nov. 2023
Food plainly is not only a necessity of humans, but something that really underscores the absurdity of segregation.
—Bon Appétit, 22 Nov. 2023
That’s an astounding figure, and one that underscores how much money Hollywood has committed to content production in recent years.
—Joe Otterson, Variety, 21 Nov. 2023
Noun
As big company lineups at the American Film Market next week underscore, smart genre, in its multiple variations, remains one of the securest market plays in an uncertain world, backed by an appetite from global streamers.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 27 Oct. 2023
Meta’s Quest Pro and Apple’s upcoming Vision Pro underscore this shift in direction.
—IEEE Spectrum, 25 Aug. 2023
The new interim leadership team has clearly been empowered to make changes, as the programming overhaul underscores.
—Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Aug. 2023
Howe also collaborated closely with songwriter-producer Blake Mills on string arrangements for some of the songs, and occasionally interpolated the tunes into his underscore.
—Jon Burlingame, Variety, 2 June 2023
The mere fact that Allred is possibly his party’s top Senate challenger for 2024 underscores just how challenging the Senate map looks for Democrats next year.
—Ben Kamisar, NBC News, 4 May 2023
But the exodus of so many married couples-to-be underscores that the precipitous decline isn’t a temporary slump that will easily reverse course if the retailer is able to replenish its stocks of merchandise.
—Jeannette Neumann, Fortune, 16 Apr. 2023
But the accounts of the displaced underscore how unconventional this war actually is.
—Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2022
Cash prizes amounting to more than a $100,000 in total underscore the festival’s objective to incentivize more resident filmmakers and to encourage more films to be made in South Florida.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 3 Mar. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'underscore.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near underscore
Cite this Entry
“Underscore.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/underscore. Accessed 5 Dec. 2023.
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More from Merriam-Webster on underscore
Nglish: Translation of underscore for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of underscore for Arabic Speakers
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