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Definition of underworld - 3 dictionary results

un⋅der⋅world

  [uhn-der-wurld]
Use underworld in a Sentence
–noun
1. the criminal element of human society.
2. the imagined abode of departed souls or spirits; Hades.
3. a region below the surface, as of the earth or a body of water.
4. the opposite side of the earth; the antipodes.
5. Archaic. the earth.
Origin:
1600–10; under- + world
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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un·der·world   (ŭn'dər-wûrld')   
n.  

  1. The part of society that is engaged in and organized for the purpose of crime and vice.

  2. A region, realm, or dwelling place conceived to be below the surface of the earth.

  3. The opposite side of the earth; the antipodes.

  4. Greek & Roman Mythology The world of the dead, located below the world of the living; Hades.

  5. Archaic The world beneath the heavens; the earth.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

underworld 
1608, "the lower world, Hades," also "the earth," as distinguished from heaven (1609). Cf. Ger. unterwelt, Du. onderwereld, Dan. underverden. Meaning "lower level of society" is first recorded 1890; "criminals and organized crime collectively" is attested from 1900.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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