under the table

- 8 dictionary results

un⋅der-the-ta⋅ble

[uhn-der-th

uh-tey-buh

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–adjective

transacted in secret or in an underhanded manner.

Origin:
1945–50

ta⋅ble

[tey-buh

noun, verb, -bled, -bling, adjective

–noun

1.	an article of furniture consisting of a flat, slablike top supported on one or more legs or other supports: a kitchen table; an operating table; a pool table.

2.	such a piece of furniture specifically used for serving food to those seated at it.

3.	the food placed on a table to be eaten: She sets a good table.

4.	a group of persons at a table, as for a meal, game, or business transaction.

5.	a gaming table.

6.	a flat or plane surface; a level area.

7.	a tableland or plateau.

8.	a concise list or guide: a table of contents.

9.	an arrangement of words, numbers, or signs, or combinations of them, as in parallel columns, to exhibit a set of facts or relations in a definite, compact, and comprehensive form; a synopsis or scheme.

10.	(initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Mensa.

11.	a flat and relatively thin piece of wood, stone, metal, or other hard substance, esp. one artificially shaped for a particular purpose.

12.

Architecture.

a.	a course or band, esp. of masonry, having a distinctive form or position.

b.	a distinctively treated surface on a wall.

13.	a smooth, flat board or slab on which inscriptions may be put.

14.

tables,

a.	the tablets on which certain collections of laws were anciently inscribed: the tables of the Decalogue.

b.	the laws themselves.

15.	Anatomy. the inner or outer hard layer or any of the flat bones of the skull.

16.	Music. a sounding board.

17.

Jewelry.

a.	the upper horizontal surface of a faceted gem.

b.	a gem with such a surface.

–verb (used with object)

18.	to place (a card, money, etc.) on a table.

19.	to enter in or form into a table or list.

20.

Parliamentary Procedure.

a.	Chiefly U.S. to lay aside (a proposal, resolution, etc.) for future discussion, usually with a view to postponing or shelving the matter indefinitely.

b.	British. to present (a proposal, resolution, etc.) for discussion.

–adjective

21.	of, pertaining to, or for use on a table: a table lamp.

22.	suitable for serving at a table or for eating or drinking: table grapes.

—Idioms

23.

on the table, Parliamentary Procedure.

a.	U.S. postponed.

b.	British. submitted for consideration.

24.	turn the tables, to cause a reversal of an existing situation, esp. with regard to gaining the upper hand over a competitor, rival, antagonist, etc.: Fortune turned the tables and we won. We turned the tables on them and undersold them by 50 percent.

25.

under the table,

drunk.

b.	as a bribe; secretly: She gave money under the table to get the apartment.

26.	wait (on) table, to work as a waiter or waitress: He worked his way through college by waiting table. Also, wait tables.

Origin:
bef. 900; (n.) ME; OE tabule, var. of tabula < L: plank, tablet; (v.) late ME: to record on a table, entertain at table, deriv. of the n.

Related forms:

ta⋅ble⋅less, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source

Link To under the table

ta·ble (tā'bəl)

1. An article of furniture supported by one or more vertical legs and having a flat horizontal surface.
2. The objects laid out for a meal on this article of furniture.
3. Either of the leaves of a backgammon board.
4. tables Obsolete The game of backgammon.
5. A flat facet cut across the top of a precious stone.
6. A stone or gem cut in this fashion.
7. The front part of the body of a stringed instrument.
8. The sounding board of a harp.
9. A raised or sunken rectangular panel on a wall.
10. A raised horizontal surface or continuous band on an exterior wall; a stringcourse.
The food and drink served at meals; fare: kept an excellent table.
The company of people assembled around a table, as for a meal.
Games A piece of furniture serving as a playing surface, as for faro, roulette, or dice. Often used in the plural.
Games
1. Either of the leaves of a backgammon board.
2. tables Obsolete The game of backgammon.
3. A flat facet cut across the top of a precious stone.
4. A stone or gem cut in this fashion.
5. The front part of the body of a stringed instrument.
6. The sounding board of a harp.
7. A raised or sunken rectangular panel on a wall.
8. A raised horizontal surface or continuous band on an exterior wall; a stringcourse.
A plateau or tableland.
1. A flat facet cut across the top of a precious stone.
2. A stone or gem cut in this fashion.
3. The front part of the body of a stringed instrument.
4. The sounding board of a harp.
5. A raised or sunken rectangular panel on a wall.
6. A raised horizontal surface or continuous band on an exterior wall; a stringcourse.
Music
1. The front part of the body of a stringed instrument.
2. The sounding board of a harp.
3. A raised or sunken rectangular panel on a wall.
4. A raised horizontal surface or continuous band on an exterior wall; a stringcourse.
Architecture
1. A raised or sunken rectangular panel on a wall.
2. A raised horizontal surface or continuous band on an exterior wall; a stringcourse.
A part of the human palm framed by four lines, analyzed in palmistry.
An orderly arrangement of data, especially one in which the data are arranged in columns and rows in an essentially rectangular form.
An abbreviated list, as of contents; a synopsis.
An engraved slab or tablet bearing an inscription or a device.
Anatomy The inner or outer flat layer of bones of the skull separated by the diploe.
tables A system of laws or decrees; a code: the tables of Moses.

tr.v. ta·bled, ta·bling, ta·bles

To put or place on a table.
To postpone consideration of (a piece of legislation, for example); shelve.
To enter in a list or table; tabulate.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin tabula, board.]

Slang Dictionary

under the table

mod.
alcohol intoxicated. : Jed was under the table by midnight.
mod.
secret; clandestine. (This is hyphenated before a nominal.) : It was strictly an under-the-table deal.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

Word Origin & History

table (v.)

in parliamentary sense, 1718, originally "to lay on the (speaker's) table for discussion," from table (n.). But in U.S. political jargon it has the sense of "to postpone indefinitely" (1866).

Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ta·ble
Pronunciation: 'tA-b&l
Function: noun
1 : a piece of furniture consisting of a smooth flat slab fixed on legs;especially : one used for examining or operating table>
2 : either of the two layers of compact bone of the skull which areseparated by cancellous diploe

Medical Dictionary

table ta·ble (tā'bəl)
n.

An article of furniture supported by one or more vertical legs and having a flat horizontal surface.
An orderly arrangement of data, especially one in which the data are arranged in columns and rows in an essentially rectangular form.
An abbreviated list, as of contents; a synopsis.
The inner or outer flat layer of bones of the skull separated by the diploë.

Idioms & Phrases

under the table

In secret, as in They paid her under the table so as to avoid taxes. This term alludes to money being passed under a table in some shady transaction, such as a bribe. [Mid-1900s] Also see under the counter.

Search another word or see under the table on Thesaurus | Reference

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