UNDERSTUDY (understudied)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: understudied   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does understudy mean? 

• UNDERSTUDY (noun)
  The noun UNDERSTUDY has 1 sense:

1. an actor able to replace a regular performer when required

  Familiarity information: UNDERSTUDY used as a noun is very rare.

• UNDERSTUDY (verb)
  The verb UNDERSTUDY has 1 sense:

1. be an understudy or alternate for a role

  Familiarity information: UNDERSTUDY used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• UNDERSTUDY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An actor able to replace a regular performer when required

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

standby; understudy

Hypernyms ("understudy" is a kind of...):

actor; histrion; player; role player; thespian (a theatrical performer)

Derivation:

understudy (be an understudy or alternate for a role)

• UNDERSTUDY (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they understudy    ... he / she / it understudies   
Past simple: understudied   
Past participle: understudied   
-ing form: understudying   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be an understudy or alternate for a role

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

alternate; understudy

Hypernyms (to "understudy" is one way to...):

con; learn; memorise; memorize (commit to memory; learn by heart)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

understudy (an actor able to replace a regular performer when required)

 Context examples 

This work adds information to a unique and understudied communication dimension in birds.

(Scent brings songbirds to the yard, National Science Foundation)

Despite the key role blood oxygen levels play in health outcomes, the influence of genetics on their variability remains understudied.

(Researchers identify genetic variations linked to oxygen drops during sleep, National Institutes of Health)

The study, one of the largest clinical trials to investigate red blood cell storage in critically ill children, sheds light on a controversial aspect of transfusion medicine that has been understudied.

(Fresh red blood cell transfusions do not help critically ill children more than older cells, National Institutes of Health)

Until now, these nematode-associated bacteria and the antibiotics they make have been largely understudied.

(A New Class of Antibiotics to Combat Drug Resistance, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Compared to genes, proteins have been relatively understudied in human blood, even though they are the ‘effectors’ of human biology, are disrupted in many diseases, and are the targets of most medicines.

(Scientists create ‘genetic atlas’ of proteins in human blood, University of Cambridge)

It provides a wonderful example of the unanticipated discoveries that result from applying state-of-the art research techniques to understudied organisms, said Maria Sutton of NSF's Directorate for Biological Sciences.

(How mantis shrimp make sense of the world, National Science Foundation)

"The sense of smell has been understudied in birds, particularly songbirds, because they frequently have such impressive plumage and song variation," says Rice.

(Scent brings songbirds to the yard, National Science Foundation)

A momentary hush; the orchestra leader varies his rhythm obligingly for her and there is a burst of chatter as the erroneous news goes around that she is Gilda Gray's understudy from the "Follies."

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)