Word
underway
Phoneticsun·der·way
US/ˌəndɝˈweɪ/
UK/ˌʌndəwˈeɪ/
Definitions
01in progress
adj. already started and currently happening.
adj. currently in progress or being carried out. Often functions as a predicative adjective following the verb 'to be' or 'to get'.
“The construction project is finally underway after months of planning.”
“Preparations for the international summit are already well underway, with security teams coordinating across several different jurisdictions.”
Usage
Usually appears after the verb 'to be' or 'to get'; it is rarely used before a noun.
02an underpass
n. a path or road that goes under another road or a railway line.
n. a passage, such as a tunnel or underpass, that allows traffic or pedestrians to pass beneath an obstacle.
“The old underway allowed the villagers to cross beneath the busy tracks.”
“The architectural plans included a narrow underway to facilitate pedestrian movement without disrupting the flow of the main thoroughfare.”
Archaic
Teaching tip
This noun sense is very rare in modern English; 'underpass' or 'tunnel' is almost always preferred.
Real-World Examples
“Search efforts to recover the remaining victims are still underway.” “The men's final gets underway at 9:33pm, with the women's medal race beginning at 9:48pm.” Etymology
Calque of Dutch onderweg (“underway”), equivalent to under- + way. Compare also German unterwegs.
From under + way.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/underway