underscore

English

Etymology 1

From under +‎ score.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈʌn.dəˌskɔː(ɹ)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈʌn.dɚˌskɔɹ/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

Noun

underscore (plural underscores)

1. A line drawn or printed beneath text; the character _.

   Synonyms: underline, low line

2. (music) A piece of background music.

Translations

an underline

• Belarusian: падкрэ́сліванне n (padkréslivannje)
• Bulgarian: подчерта́ване (bg) n (podčertávane)
• Catalan: guió baix m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 下橫線／下横线 (xiàhéngxiàn)

• Czech: podtržítko n
• Danish: bundstreg c
• Dutch: underscore c
• Esperanto: substreko
• Finnish: alaviiva (fi)
• French: tiret bas (fr) m, souligné (fr) m, blanc souligné (fr) m, sous-tiret (fr) m, tiret du 8 (fr)
• Georgian: ქვეტირე (kveṭire)
• German: Unterstreichung f (line); Unterstrich m (character), (character) Grundstrich
• Greek: υπογράμμιση (el) f (ypográmmisi)
• Hungarian: (character) aláhúzásjel, (line below text) aláhúzás (hu)
• Icelandic: undirstrik n
• Irish: fostríoc f
• Italian: trattino (it) m basso
• Japanese: アンダーバー (ja) (andābā), アンダースコア (andāsukoa)
• Korean: 밑줄 문자 (mitjul munja), 언더바 (eondeoba)
• Macedonian: до́лна цр́та f (dólna cŕta), подвлеку́вање n (podvlekúvanje)
• Maori: ahungarua
• Polish: podkreślenie (pl) n (line), podkreślnik (pl) m (character), podłoga (pl) f
• Portuguese: underline (pt) m, sublinha (pt) f, travessão (pt) m
• Russian: подчёркивание (ru) n (podčórkivanije)
• Slovak: podčiarkovník m, podčiarknutie n
• Slovene: podčrtaj m
• Spanish: guion bajo
• Swedish: understreck (sv) n
• Turkish: alt çizgi, alt tire
• Ukrainian: підкре́слення (uk) n (pidkréslennja)

background music

• Finnish: taustakappale
• Hungarian: háttérzene (hu)
• Italian: sottofondo m musicale, musica di sottofondo
• Swedish: bakgrundsmusik (sv) c

Etymology 2

From under- +‎ score.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌʌn.dəˈskɔː(ɹ)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌʌn.dɚˈskɔɹ/

Verb

underscore (third-person singular simple present underscores, present participle underscoring, simple past and past participle underscored)

1. To underline; to mark a line beneath text.
   • 2011, Matt Aimonetti, MacRuby: The Definitive Guide: Ruby and Cocoa on OS X, page 14:

     By convention, Rubyists usually underscore their method names.

2. To emphasize or draw attention to.

   I wish to underscore the importance of proper formatting.

   • 1986, Richard Bauman, Story, Performance, and Event: Contextual Studies of Oral Narrative:

     The tale thus underscores in expressive form the semiparadoxical fact that traders can lie by telling the truth.

Translations

to underline

• Bulgarian: подчертавам (bg) (podčertavam)
• Czech: podtrhnout (cs)
• Esperanto: substreki
• Finnish: alleviivata (fi)
• French: souligner (fr)
• German: unterstreichen (de)
• Greek: υπογραμμίζω (el) (ypogrammízo)
• Hungarian: aláhúz (hu)
• Irish: fostríoc, folínigh, líne a chur faoi, stríoc a chur faoi
• Italian: sottolineare (it)
• Macedonian: по́двлече (pódvleče)
• Portuguese: sublinhar (pt)
• Russian: подчёркивать (ru) impf (podčórkivatʹ), подчеркну́ть (ru) pf (podčerknútʹ)
• Spanish: subrayar (es)
• Swedish: stryka under (sv)

to emphasize

• Bulgarian: наблягам (bg) (nabljagam)
• Czech: podtrhnout (cs) pf
• Finnish: alleviivata (fi)
• French: souligner (fr)
• German: unterstreichen (de)
• Greek: υπογραμμίζω (el) (ypogrammízo)
• Hungarian: hangsúlyoz (hu), nyomatékosít (hu), kiemel (hu), felhívja a figyelmet (hu)
• Irish: béim a chur ar, béim a leagan ar
• Italian: evidenziare (it), enfatizzare (it)
• Macedonian: и́стакне (ístakne)
• Russian: подчёркивать (ru) impf (podčórkivatʹ), подчеркну́ть (ru) pf (podčerknútʹ)
• Spanish: subrayar (es)
• Swedish: understryka (sv), betona (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} souligner (fr)

See also

• underbar
• undertie

Typography

• ampersand ( & )
• asterisk ( * ) and asterism ( ⁂ )
• at sign ( @ )
• backslash ( \ )
• bullet ( • )
• dagger ( † ‡ )
• degree symbol ( ° )
• number sign ( # )
• prime ( ′ )
• tilde ( ~ )
• underscore ( _ )
• vertical bar/pipe ( | )