Under vs. Below

Under vs. Below

First of all, to make the difference between 'under' and 'below'. Both of these words can mean 'in a lower position than', so there's a sense in which they mean the same thing. But we use them sometimes in different circumstances, for example, if you're talking about something being covered by something, we use 'under'. So, 'I hid the key under a rock'. Or, 'Officials said there was nothing under President Bush's jacket'.

          You use 'below' when you're talking about something that's not physically immediately under, or not necessarily immediately under. So you say, 'below the surface of the water'. That might be anywhere below the surface of the water, not necessarily just touching it. Or, 'twenty miles below the earth's surface', definitely not immediately under it. And, by extension, we say things like, 'below the poverty line'.

                                                                                                                                                  We also use 'under' when we're talking about 'younger than' or 'less than'. So, 'under a dozen times', 'under the age of ten'. Whereas we use 'below', if we're visualizing a kind of vertical scale. So, 'below sea level', 'below average', 'an IQ below 80', 'radio waves below 22 kHz'. There are a number of fixed expressions, so, for example, a lot of expressions about what's happening while something else is going on, or because of certain conditions, or controlled by something or someone. So we say, 'under construction', 'under fire', 'under attack', 'under arrest', 'under these conditions', 'under scrutiny', 'under pressure', 'under the King's regime'. All of those form a kind of a family.

-----Another way to understand this difference-----

-Both below and under can mean ‘lower than’.

E.g. The knives are in the cupboard under the sink.

OR

E.g. The knives are in the cupboard below the sink.

-Below is preferred when one thing is not directly under another.

E.g. The sun disappeared below the horizon. (NOT The sun disappeared under the horizon.)

E.g. The climbers stopped several hundred meters below the top of the mountain.

-Under is preferred when something is covered by what is over it.

E.g. He was wearing a blue shirt under his sweater.

E.g. The cat is under the bed.

E.g. The whole village was under water.

-In measurements of temperature and height we use below.

E.g. The temperature is five degrees below zero.

E.g. Parts of the city are below sea level.

-To mean ‘less than’ or ‘younger than’ we use under.

E.g. There were under ten students in the class. (NOT There were below ten students in the class.)

E.g. You can’t get a driving license if you are under 18. (NOT You can’t get a driving license if you are below 18.)

-----Some more examples-----

1 in, to or through a position that is below something

E.g. Have you looked under the table?

E.g. She placed the ladder under (= just lower than) the window.

E.g. The dog squeezed under the main-gate and ran into the road.

2 below the surface of something; covered by something

E.g. The boat lay under several feet of water.

3 less than; younger than an annual income of under Rs10000

E.g. It took us under an hour.

E.g. Nobody under 18 is allowed to buy alcohol in UP.

4 used to say who or what controls, governs or manages somebody/something

E.g. Their country is now under martial law.

E.g. The coinage was reformed under Elizabeth I (= when she was queen) .

E.g. She has a staff of 19 working under her.

E.g. Under its new conductor, the orchestra has established an international reputation.

5 according to an agreement, a law or a system

E.g. Six suspects are being held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

E.g. Under the terms of the lease you had no right to sublet the property.

E.g. Is the television still under guarantee?

6 experiencing a particular process

E.g. The Hindustan hotel is still under construction.

E.g. The matter is under investigation.

7 affected by something

E.g. The wall collapsed under the strain.

E.g. I've been feeling under stress because of my high expenditures.

E.g. I'm under no illusions about what hard work this will be.

E.g. You'll be under anesthetic, so you won't feel a thing.

8 using a particular name

E.g. Seema also writes under the pseudonym of Barbara Vine.

9 found in a particular part of a book, list, etc.

E.g. If it's not under ‘sports’, try looking under ‘games'.