as in subordinate
one who is of lower rank and typically under the authority of another
the real estate tycoon has a whole army of underlings to attend to the details
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 underling
Tom Girardi’s underling faces discipline charges over a $53-million payout kept secret from clients.
—
Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2025
The new emails are also intended to allow supervisors to get a better understanding of underlings’ work and help align different agencies.
—Brady Knox, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025
May Be the Way to Stop Trump and Musk | Opinion
A court could order Trump or an underling to appear for a contempt of court hearing, but an underling is more likely to show up.
—Justin Gest, Newsweek, 11 Feb. 2025
While Elon Musk and his underlings demand budget cuts and layoffs across the federal government, funding for their agency — the Department of Government Efficiency — has soared to nearly $40 million, ProPublica found in a review of Office of Management and Budget records.
—Avi Asher-Schapiro, ProPublica, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for underling
Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2025
The new emails are also intended to allow supervisors to get a better understanding of underlings’ work and help align different agencies.
—Brady Knox, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025
May Be the Way to Stop Trump and Musk | Opinion
A court could order Trump or an underling to appear for a contempt of court hearing, but an underling is more likely to show up.
—Justin Gest, Newsweek, 11 Feb. 2025
While Elon Musk and his underlings demand budget cuts and layoffs across the federal government, funding for their agency — the Department of Government Efficiency — has soared to nearly $40 million, ProPublica found in a review of Office of Management and Budget records.
—Avi Asher-Schapiro, ProPublica, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for underling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for underling
Noun
-
But even those modest gains quickly evaporated amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as Trump blamed China for the outbreak and allowed his subordinates wide latitude to pursue aggressive policies toward Beijing.—
Jude Blanchette,
Foreign Affairs,
27 Mar. 2025
-
Waltz also indulged in several of the histrionic television appearances that Trump demands of his subordinates.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
27 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
The Galactic Emperor’s top henchman and the freedom fighter Luke Skywalker were related?—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2025
-
Their explosive investigation gets even more dangerous as Mike and Marcus must protect murder witness Julie (Téa Leoni) from a French drug kingpin and his deadly henchmen after surviving a shoot-out.—
Rendy Jones,
EW.com,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Small medieval villages are demolished in the wake of hell’s minions pouring forth from their dimension and into the next.—
Kazuma Hashimoto,
Rolling Stone,
31 Mar. 2025
-
At just 17 years old, Amanda Seyfried booked her breakout role in Mean Girls as Regina George’s bimbo minion who could predict the weather with her boobs.—
airmail.news,
airmail.news,
15 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Underling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/underling. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share