Phrase guide

under the counter

adj · adv · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

adj

Meaning 1

In an underhand way, sneakily; unofficially, particularly with regard to payment or tax avoidance.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Ireland, UK, colloquial

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adv

Meaning 2

Illicitly, against regulations, of goods kept under the serving counter in a shop to be unobtrusively passed to a customer who knows they are available for surreptitious sale (e.g. pornographic magazines in a newsagent).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • 1969 The Seven Minutes: A Novel - Page 157 by Irving Wallace Oh, yeah, I remember, you mean about me not trying to sell from under the counter?
  • 2004, James Carlos Blake, Under the Skin, HarperCollins, →ISBN, page 55, When Prohibition became the law, they produced the stuff in greater quantity and sold it under the counter to anybody who wanted it.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

15 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 私下的 (sīxià de) — unofficially
  • Finnish: pimeä — unofficially
  • Italian: illecito — unofficially
  • Italian: fraudolento — unofficially
  • Italian: irregolare — unofficially
  • Chinese Mandarin: 非法地 (fēifǎ de) — illicitly
  • Finnish: tiskin alta — illicitly
  • French: sous le comptoir — illicitly
  • German: unter dem Ladentisch — illicitly
  • Hungarian: pult alatt — illicitly
  • Italian: sottobanco — illicitly
  • Italian: illecitamente — illicitly
  • Italian: fraudolento — illicitly
  • Italian: subdolamente — illicitly
  • Russian: и́з-под полы́ (íz-pod polý) — illicitly