underworld.

1. A realm associated in myth or belief with the dead, often conceived as beneath the living world.

2. The sphere of organized crime or people engaged in illicit activity.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• a descent into the underworld
• a ruler of the underworld

On the page

The poem’s descent into the underworld began at an ordinary roadside opening.

The story gave its underworld a ruler who remembered every visitor.

Usage notes

Primary category: horror. Forms: Singular underworld; plural underworlds. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.