underweight

adjective
UK: /ˌʌndəˈweɪt/
US: /ˌʌndərˈweɪt/

  1. Below a weight considered normal or desirable.

    1. She is underweight and needs to eat more food to gain weight.
    2. The doctor said I was underweight because my BMI was below the healthy range.

Synonyms

thin scrawny
underweight noun

  1. The state of weighing less than is normal, healthy, or required.

    1. Her underweight was due to illness and she felt very weak.
    2. The underweight of the package raised suspicions at the airport security check.

Frequently Asked Questions

The phonetic transcription of "underweight" is /ˌʌndəˈweɪt/ in British English and /ˌʌndərˈweɪt/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "underweight": thin, scrawny.

Example usage of "underweight": "She is underweight and needs to eat more food to gain weight.". More examples on the page.