<B>understaffed, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having too small a staff for needs and proper functioning; undermanned. <BR> <I>Ex. an understaffed hospital.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="understand">
<B>understand, </B>verb, <B>-stood,</B> <B>-standing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to grasp the meaning of; know the meaning or idea of. <BR> <I>Ex. I don't understand that word. Now I understand the teacher's question.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to grasp the meaning of the words, signs, or a line of reasoning, used by (a person). <BR> <I>Ex. What did he say? I couldn't understand him when he got into legal technicalities.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to comprehend by knowing the meaning of the words used. <BR> <I>Ex. I can understand French if it is spoken slowly. A tongue no man could understand (Tennyson).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to know well, especially: <DD><B> a. </B>to be able to explain, discuss, use, or experiment with. <BR> <I>Ex. to understand physics, to understand the techniques of writing.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to know how to deal with. <BR> <I>Ex. A good teacher understands children.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>to comprehend as a fact; grasp clearly; realize. <BR> <I>Ex. You understand, don't you, that I will be away for three weeks?</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>to be informed; learn. <BR> <I>Ex. I understand that you are leaving town.</I> <DD><B> 7. </B>to take as a fact; believe. <BR> <I>Ex. It is understood that you will come.</I> <DD><B> 8. </B>to take as meaning; interpret. <BR> <I>Ex. How do you wish that remark to be understood? I understood your comment as approval of the plan. What are we to understand from his words?</I> <DD><B> 9. </B>to supply in the mind. In "He hit the ball harder than I," the word <I>did</I> is understood after I. <DD><B> 10. </B>to follow instructions in (a particular computer language). <BR> <I>Ex. Acorn has agreed to modify substantially the BASIC used by its current range of machines, called Atoms, so that other microcomputers can understand the language as well (New Scientist).</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to have or gain understanding or comprehension; get the meaning; grasp something with the mind. <BR> <I>Ex. Don't expect that fool ever to understand. I have told him three times, but he still doesn't understand.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to have understanding; be sympathetic. <BR> <I>Ex. to expect a mother always to understand.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to believe, assume, or infer. <BR> <I>Ex. He intends, as I understand, to leave tomorrow.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Obsolete.) to have or get knowledge or information; learn. <BR><I>expr. <B>understand each other,</B> </I>to know each other's meaning and wishes; agree. <BR> <I>Ex. "You trust me," replied Leather, ... with a look as much as to say, "we understand each other" (R. S. Surtees).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="understandability">
<B>understandability, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality of being understandable. </DL>
<A NAME="understandable">
<B>understandable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that can be understood. (SYN) comprehensible, intelligible. </DL>
<A NAME="understandably">
<B>understandably, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> in a manner that can be understood; conceivably. <BR> <I>Ex. an understandably appealing idea (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="understander">
<B>understander, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person who understands; one who has knowledge or comprehension. <BR> <I>Ex. Some are pleased to be accounted understanders by others, and rest in such high words, as a badge of knowledge (Richard Gilpin).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>one who stands under. <BR> <I>Ex. short and muscular, like the understander in a human pyramid (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="understanding">
<B>understanding, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the act of one who understands, especially: <DD><B> a. </B>comprehension. <BR> <I>Ex. to have a clear understanding of the problem.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>knowledge. <BR> <I>Ex. a good understanding of what needs to be done.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the power or ability to learn and know; intellect; intelligence. <BR> <I>Ex. the limited understanding of a child. Edison was a man of understanding.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>knowledge of each other's meaning and wishes. <BR> <I>Ex. a marriage based on true understanding.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>a mutual arrangement or agreement of an informal but more or less explicit nature. <BR> <I>Ex. You and I must come to an understanding.</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> that understands or is able to understand; intelligent and sympathetic. <BR> <I>Ex. an understanding reply.</I> adv. <B>understandingly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="understate">
<B>understate, </B>transitive verb, intransitive verb, <B>-stated,</B> <B>-stating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to state too weakly, or less emphatically than one should; underemphasize. <BR> <I>Ex. to understate the facts, to understate one's position.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to say less than the full truth about. </DL>
<A NAME="understated">
<B>understated, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> played down for greater effect; restrained; low-key. <BR> <I>Ex. Her dancing is ... understated and delicate (New Yorker). [He] designed the understated modern interiors for the new shop (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="understatement">
<B>understatement, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a statement that expresses a fact too weakly or less emphatically than it should. Understatement is often used for humorous and other effects. <BR> <I>Ex. The designer used understatement to bring out subtle details in her dresses.</I> (SYN) restraint. <DD><B> 2. </B>a statement that says less than could be said truly. </DL>
<A NAME="understeer">
<B>understeer, </B>verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> to have an automobile turn less sharply on a curve than intended by the driver. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>an act or instance of understeering. <DD><B> 2. </B>a tendency to understeer. <BR> <I>Ex. When driven briskly, its excessive understeer called for a wrestler's muscles to pull the car around snaking curves (London Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="understock">
<B>understock, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the plant or part of a plant in which a graft is set. </DL>
<A NAME="understood">
<B>understood, </B>verb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>verb </I> the past tense and past participle of <B>understand.</B> <BR> <I>Ex. Have all of you understood today's lesson? I understood what he said.</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>agreed upon. <BR> <I>Ex. We gossip together, within understood limits, about our respective friends (Midge Decter).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>thoroughly known; comprehended. <BR> <I>Ex. a widely accepted and understood interpretation.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>implied; not expressed. <BR> <I>Ex. the understood sense of a word. The consent was for the most part an understood privilege.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="understory">
<B>understory, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the low layer of plants forming an underbrush or underwood. </DL>
<A NAME="understrapper">
<B>understrapper, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a subordinate; inferior; underling. </DL>
<A NAME="understratum">
<B>understratum, </B>noun, pl. <B>-strata,</B> <B>-stratums.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an underlying stratum or layer; substratum. </DL>
<A NAME="understrength">
<B>understrength, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having too little strength; not up to the normal or required strength. <BR> <I>Ex. After Korea the Army gradually dwindled to 14 understrength divisions (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="understress">
<B>understress, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to stress insufficiently; underemphasize. <BR> <I>Ex. His importance as a composer ... has tended to be understressed (Listener).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="understroke">
<B>understroke, </B>transitive verb, <B>-stroked,</B> <B>-stroking.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to underline; underscore. </DL>
<A NAME="understructure">
<B>understructure, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the base on which a structure rests or is built; foundation. <BR> <I>Ex. Underground erosion damaged the understructure of the building. (Figurative.) French money supports the whole understructure of the Tunisian economy (Harper's).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="understudy">
<B>understudy, </B>noun, pl. <B>-studies,</B> verb, <B>-studied,</B> <B>-studying.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a person who can act as a substitute for an actor, actress, or any other regular performer. <BR> <I>Ex. Two of Notre Dame's touchdowns were scored by Worden's understudy, Tom McHugh (New York Times).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to learn (a part) in order to be able to take the place of a regular performer if necessary. <DD><B> 2. </B>to act as understudy to. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to act as an understudy. </DL>
<A NAME="undersuit">
<B>undersuit, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a suit worn under or beneath another suit. </DL>
<A NAME="undersupply">
<B>undersupply, </B>verb, <B>-plied,</B> <B>-plying,</B> noun, pl. <B>-plies.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> to supply insufficiently or inadequately. <BR> <I>Ex. If this should happen, the underdeveloped world will be even more desperately undersupplied with doctors (Harper's).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> an insufficient or inadequate supply. <BR> <I>Ex. The total money market is tight, which means that there is an undersupply of lendable capital and an oversupply of potential borrowers (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="undersurface">
<B>undersurface, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the surface lying underneath; underside. <BR> <I>Ex. the undersurface of a leaf.</I> </DL>
