What does underscore mean?

Definitions for underscoreˈʌn dərˌskɔr, -ˌskoʊr

Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word underscore.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. underscore, underline(verb)

    a line drawn underneath (especially under written matter)

  2. underscore, underline, emphasize, emphasise(verb)

    give extra weight to (a communication)

    "Her gesture emphasized her words"

  3. underline, underscore(verb)

    draw a line or lines underneath to call attention to


  1. underscore(Noun)

    An underline; a line drawn or printed beneath text; the character .

  2. underscore(Noun)

    A piece of background music.

  3. underscore(Verb)

    To underline; to mark a line beneath text.

  4. underscore(Verb)

    To emphasize or draw attention to.

    I wish to underscore the importance of proper formatting.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Underscore(verb)

    to draw a mark or line under; to underline


  1. Underscore

    The underscore is a character that originally appeared on the typewriter and was primarily used to underline words. To produce an underlined word, the word was typed, the typewriter carriage was moved back to the beginning of the word, and the word was overtyped with the underscore character. This character is sometimes used to create visual spacing within a sequence of characters, where a whitespace character is not permitted, e.g., in computer filenames, e-mail addresses, and in World Wide Web URLs. Some computer applications will automatically underline text surrounded by underscores: _underlined_ will render underlined. It is often used in ASCII-only media for this purpose. When the underscore is used for emphasis in this fashion, it is usually interpreted as indicating that the enclosed text is underlined or italicized. The underscore is not the same character as the dash character, although one convention for text news wires is to use an underscore when an em-dash or en-dash is desired, or when other non-standard characters such as bullets would be appropriate. A series of underscores may be used to create a blank to be filled in on a form. It is also sometimes used to create a horizontal line, if no other method is available; hyphens and dashes are often used for a similar purpose.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Underscore

    un-dėr-skōr′, v.t. to draw a score or line under, as for emphasis.

Editors Contribution

  1. underscore

    A known character or symbol used in text, writing and a computer language and keyboard.

    Some people underscore a computer symbol within their email address.


  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of underscore in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of underscore in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Sample Sentences & Example Usage

  1. Michael Froman:

    It helps underscore you can't build walls around the U.S..

  2. Ralf Umlauf:

    The numbers underscore the positive expectations for German growth in 2015.

  3. Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel:

    I would underscore that I don’t expect to make any money from this, this is not a business venture.

  4. Philip Hammond:


  5. Morgan Stanley:

    Changes in Saudi Arabia oil leadership only underscore the shift in strategy to one focused on market share over price.

Images & Illustrations of underscore

  1. underscoreunderscoreunderscore

Translations for underscore

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • podtrhnout, podtržítkoCzech
  • unterstreichen, GrundstrichGerman
  • υπογράμμιση, υπογραμμίζωGreek
  • subrayar, guion bajoSpanish
  • برجسته کردنPersian
  • alleviivata, taustakappale, alaviivaFinnish
  • tiret bas, souligner, sous-tiret, souligné, blanc soulignéFrench
  • fostríocIrish
  • बल देनाHindi
  • sottolineareItalian
  • podkreślenie, podkreślnikPolish
  • sublinha, underline, sublinharPortuguese
  • подчёркивать, подчеркнуть, подчёркиваниеRussian
  • bakgrundsmusik, understryka, understreck, betona, stryka underSwedish
  • alt çizgiTurkish

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"underscore." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2018. Web. 23 Mar. 2018. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/underscore>.

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