underpass

C2+ Topic:Transportation

US /ˈʌndɚpæs/ UK /ˈʌndəpɑːs/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a road or passage running beneath another road or railway

They cycled through the underpass to avoid the busy intersection.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a road or passage running... subway tunnel underground

Opposites

overpassflyoverbridge

Word family

Related forms passunderpassage

Etymology

From under- ('beneath') + pass, from Old French passer, from Vulgar Latin *passare, from Latin passus ('step, pace'), from pandere ('to stretch').

under Old English passus Latin pandere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Transportation

External links

# underpass

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈʌndɚpæs/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈʌndəpɑːs/

## Meanings
1. a road or passage running beneath another road or railway

## Examples
- They cycled through the underpass to avoid the busy intersection.

## Synonyms
- subway
- tunnel
- underground

## Antonyms
- overpass
- flyover
- bridge

## Related Forms
- pass
- underpassage

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: under
- Root: passus
- Root: pandere

## Etymology
From under- ('beneath') + pass, from Old French passer, from Vulgar Latin *passare, from Latin passus ('step, pace'), from pandere ('to stretch').

## AI Etymology
Underpass is from under- ('beneath') + pass, from Old French passer, from Vulgar Latin *passare, from Latin passus ('step, pace'), from pandere ('to stretch'). Important recorded forms include under (Old English), passus (Latin), and pandere (Latin). Morphologically, the under- element contributes the sense of beneath, lower rank, concealment, or insufficiency, depending on the base it modifies. The modern sense continues the older lexical line without requiring a separate origin. In current use it covers a road or passage running beneath another road or railway. The wider family includes related words such as pass and underpassage.

## Topics
- Transportation

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