undermine
/ˌʌn.dɚˈmaɪn/verb
undermine is spelled U-N-D-E-R-M-I-N-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 4.5 times per million words in written English, the 12,045th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, undermine means “To dig underneath (something), to make a passage for destructive or military purposes; to sap” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in undermine?
| Letters | 9: U-N-D-E-R-M-I-N-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.5 times per million words; the 12,045th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is undermine?
Undermine appears 4.5 times per million words in written English, the 12,045th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce undermine?
- UK /ˌʌn.dəˈmaɪn/
- US /ˌʌn.dɚˈmaɪn/
Undermine has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-undermine.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with undermine?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as undermine from its last stressed vowel (/aɪn/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of undermine
- undermines present, singular, he/she/it
- undermining participle, present
- undermined participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does undermine mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To dig underneath (something), to make a passage for destructive or military purposes; to sap.
- 2
To weaken or work against; to hinder, sabotage.
The war efforts were undermined by the constant bickering between the allies.
- 3
To erode the base or foundation of something, e.g. by the action of water.
- 4
To regard an object as the sum of the parts that compose it, in object-oriented ontology.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Undermine in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | saper |
| German | unterlaufen, untergraben, unterminieren, schwächen, beschädigen |
| Portuguese | solapar, sabotar, prejudicar , minar |
| Spanish | socavar, desvirtuar, armar tranquilla |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does undermine come from?
From under- + mine.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).