go under

verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"go-under" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“go under” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To descend into a body of water; to founder.

Corpus desk

Index EN-go-under · go under · English

go under · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "G" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for go under
PropertyValue
Headwordgo under
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “go under” in English

go undersits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

go under is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for go under, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is go under, spelled G-O- -U-N-D-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To descend into a body of water; to founder.
  2. 2
    To collapse or fail, e.g. by going bankrupt.
  3. 3
    To die.
  4. 4
    To be named; to call oneself.
  5. 5
    To enter a trance, state of hypnosis, etc.
  6. 6
    To be imprisoned.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how go under appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The boat was too heavy and went under.
  2. In the crisis, the company was forced to reduce its costs in order to avoid going under.

This word in other languages

hundirse(Español)untergehen(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "go under"?
"go under" is spelled G-O- -U-N-D-E-R.
What does "go under" mean?
As a verb, "go under" means: To descend into a body of water; to founder.
What language does "go under" come from?
"go under" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list