Standard Lemma guide

underpass

noun · 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: AH1 N D ER0 P AE2 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A passage, especially for pedestrians, that crosses underneath a road, railroad or obstacle.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: subway, flyunder

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

an underground tunnel or passage enabling pedestrians to cross a road or railway

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: subway

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: tunnel

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h1én Proto-Indo-European *h1entér Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dhí Proto-Indo-European *-ér Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dhér Proto-Germanic *under Proto-West Germanic *undar Old English under- Middle English under- English under- Proto-Indo-European *peth2-der. Proto-Italic *pattus Latin passus Proto-Italic *-āzi ▲ Latin -ereinflu. Latin -āre Vulgar Latin *passāre Old French passerbor. Middle English passen English pass English underpass From under- + pass.

Across languages

Translations

39 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: نَفَق مُشَاة (nafaq mušāh) — passage
  • Belarusian: падзе́мны перахо́д (padzjémny pjeraxód) — passage
  • Bulgarian: по́длез (pódlez) — passage
  • Chinese Mandarin: 地下通道 (dìxià tōngdào) — passage
  • Chinese Mandarin: 地下道 (dìxiàdào) — passage
  • Czech: podchod — passage
  • Estonian: jalakäijate tunnel — passage
  • Finnish: alikulkutunneli — passage
  • Finnish: alikäytävä — passage
  • Finnish: alikulku — passage
  • French: passage souterrain — passage
  • French: souterrain — passage
  • Georgian: მიწისქვეშა გადასასვლელი (mic̣iskveša gadasasvleli) — passage
  • German: Unterführung — passage
  • Hungarian: aluljáró — passage
  • Indonesian: lintas bawah — passage
  • Italian: sottopassaggio — passage
  • Japanese: 地下道 (chikadō) — passage
  • Korean: 토끼굴 (tokkigul) — passage
  • Korean: 지하도 (jihado) — passage
  • Macedonian: по́двозник (pódvoznik) — passage
  • Malay: jabanah — passage
  • Iranian Persian: زیرْگُذَر (zirgozar) — passage
  • Polish: przejście podziemne — passage
  • Portuguese: passagem subterrânea — passage
  • Russian: подзе́мный перехо́д (podzémnyj perexód) — passage
  • Russian: подзе́мный ход (podzémnyj xod) — passage
  • Scottish Gaelic: fo-rathad — passage
  • Scottish Gaelic: fo-shlighe — passage
  • Serbo-Croatian: по̀тходнӣк — passage
  • Serbo-Croatian: по̀двожња̄к — passage
  • Serbo-Croatian: pòthodnīk — passage
  • Serbo-Croatian: pòdvožnjāk — passage
  • Slovak: podchod — passage
  • Spanish: paso inferior — passage
  • Swedish: undergång — passage
  • Swedish: vägport — passage
  • Tagalog: daan-silong — passage
  • Ukrainian: підзе́мний перехі́д (pidzémnyj perexíd) — passage
Real reading context

underpass in complete knowledge articles