underway

[ uhn-der-wey for 1; uhn-der-wey for 2 ]
See synonyms for underway on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. occurring while under way: the underway activities on a cruise ship.

Origin of underway

1
1735–45; adj. use of the adverbial phrase under way;see way1

Other definitions for under way (2 of 2)

under way

adjective, adverb
  1. Also underway. (of a ship) no longer in port, at anchor, etc.; moving.

  2. no longer at rest, stationary, etc.; in motion; traveling: We'll put our bags in the car and be under way.

  1. proceeding; in progress: Plans are under way to sell the company.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use underway in a sentence

  • They didn't linger long at Benton, but got under way and marched overland to the Cypress Hills.

    Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • The case may be kept in a light position, and when once under way it will rarely need any additional water.

    How to Know the Ferns | S. Leonard Bastin
  • The launch was already under way, and young Cargill trying to avoid it better, thrust with his boat-hook at the side of the lock.

    Uncanny Tales | Various
  • They clung to the ship as we got under way, men and women, crying, 'Tobacco!'

  • Already most of the hotels were prepared to take care of this class of tourists, and in many others improvements were under way.

British Dictionary definitions for under way

under way

adjective(postpositive)
  1. in progress; in operation: the show was under way

  2. nautical in motion

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with underway

underway

In motion, as in The ship got under way at noon. [c. 1930]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.