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Showing results for underpass. Search instead for underpays.
Synonyms

underpass

American  
[uhn-der-pas, -pahs] / ˈʌn dərˌpæs, -ˌpɑs /

noun

  1. a passage running underneath, especially a passage for pedestrians or vehicles, or both, crossing under a railroad, road, etc.

underpass British  
/ ˈʌndəˌpɑːs /

noun

  1. a section of a road that passes under another road, railway line, etc

  2. another word for subway

"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

Etymology

Origin of underpass

First recorded in 1900–05; under- + pass

Vocabulary lists containing underpass

Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: under-

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Videos circulating on social media showed police vans escorting a bar association vehicle carrying Mazari to court before it was stopped at an underpass, where masked security officials prevented journalists from filming the arrest.

From Barron's • Jan. 24, 2026

Earlier in 2024, Essex County Council stressed it did not provide swimming equipment after a sign suggesting it would hand out flippers, masks and snorkels appeared at an underpass near the city centre.

From BBC • Oct. 9, 2025

In Wasco, for example, disagreements between the city and the authority over the creation of an underpass and other projects led to years-long delays on construction and increased costs.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 4, 2025

He filmed himself on his phone holding up the tent in an underpass, saying he was “going to survive the hurricane. Why? To entertain the people”.

From BBC • Oct. 11, 2024

Why would I have gone into the underpass?

From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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