under-the-table

adjective

Definition of under-the-tablenext
as in under-the-counter

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of under-the-table Zumba allegedly asked whether the spouse would be willing to issue real, but unauthorized, ID cards for an under-the-table payment. — Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 12 Feb. 2026 But while that under-the-table approach by Israel towards Hamas came crashing down with the October 7, 2023 attacks, concern still lingers in Ramallah, the headquarters of the PA , that the new technocratic committee could be another way to divide Palestinians by creating rival centers of power. — Andrew Carey, CNN Money, 18 Jan. 2026 In the meantime, many engage in under-the-table, unreliable work. — Colette Davidson, Christian Science Monitor, 23 Sep. 2025 The truth is, under the old system, plenty of elite players were there only for the under-the-table cash. — Rick Burton, Sportico.com, 21 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for under-the-table
Recent Examples of Synonyms for under-the-table
  1. under-the-counter
  2. unauthorized
  3. unsanctioned
  4. illicit
  5. unlicensed
  6. unapproved
  7. criminal
  8. contraband
Adjective
  • Behind the bar, crammed into a small station barely wide enough for one person, were two rice cookers, a combination oven, an induction burner and an under-the-counter fridge.
    — Priya Krishna, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025
  • By night, his father would lend him his binoculars to spy on women through their windows, filling in any gaps in his anatomical understanding with whatever under-the-counter girly magazines had managed to wiggle through Italy’s draconian censorship.
    — Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2024
Definition of under-the-counter
Adjective
  • There are claims that Cabinet officials, politicians, journalists, civil society leaders and business executives were also subjected to unauthorized surveillance.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Police allege the unauthorized wiretapping took place between 2025 and 2026 — when Listyo was Indonesia's police chief — and that the suspects ordered the wiretaps without following proper procedure.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of unauthorized
Adjective
  • The four teens shot in the middle of the night at a south Charlotte industrial park were attending an unsanctioned car meetup, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.
    — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Set early during the New Republic era, the game introduces the Galactic League, an unsanctioned racing circuit assembled by Darius Pax.
    — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of unsanctioned
Adjective
  • So far, the most plausible driver of recent declines in overdose deaths is a change in the illicit drug supply.
    — J. Travis Donahoe, STAT, 23 Oct. 2026
  • But how and through whom the money flowed into the Alpha account revealed that it was intended to remain secret, more akin to a covert and illicit scheme, given that it was managed in part by a senior advisor to the president of the United States.
    — Matthew Cole, Vanity Fair, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of illicit
Adjective
  • Part of the reform focused on eliminating misdemeanor criminal penalties, arrests and jail time for unlicensed mobile food vendors and replacing them with civil violations and fines.
    — Zareen Syed, Chicago Tribune, 27 Oct. 2026
  • New York state sued Kalshi and Polymarket this year, claiming that the companies each ran unlicensed sports gambling businesses.
    — Mike Vorkunov, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of unlicensed
Adjective
  • Several employee open cup containers with unapproved screw-top lids were on the shelf, prep table and food prep storage.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Her filing claimed that Peters also gave her an unapproved drug that may have included some kind of methamphetamine.
    — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of unapproved
Adjective
  • Also Sunday, prosecutors ordered a 48-hour detention of Marko Kricak, Vucic's chief of criminal police.
    — MARKO DROBNJAKOVIC, Arkansas Online, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Linn County prosecutors did not file criminal charges, but the church would not allow Moore to work with children, youth and vulnerable adults.
    — Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of criminal
Adjective
  • Officers searched the restroom and found a package of contraband drugs, including K2, high-potency THC wax and suboxone strips.
    — DeJanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026
  • His current release date is scheduled for March 2028, a recent change after he was reportedly caught using a contraband cell phone to scroll on Instagram.
    — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of contraband

Browse Nearby Words

under the influence
under-the-table
under the weather
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Under-the-table.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/under-the-table. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

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