What does underdone mean?
Underdone is an adjective meaning not cooked for long enough. In everyday British and American English, it is used chiefly of meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, and other foods that remain insufficiently cooked. The term is broader than a specialist label such as rare or medium rare: it focuses on whether cooking has fallen short of the intended result rather than naming a fixed stage of doneness. Underdone consequently often describes an unfortunate mistake, as when a steak is returned because it has not been cooked sufficiently. The word can also carry a practical warning, since some foods need to reach a safe internal temperature regardless of personal preference. Underdone is usually used after a linking verb, as in “the chicken was underdone,” and is especially natural in restaurant, recipe, and food-safety contexts. It is particularly useful because it identifies a clear deficiency without claiming that a food is entirely raw: the food may have been cooked somewhat but not enough.
adjectiveNot cooked for long enough. The term is used chiefly of meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, and other food that has not reached the intended degree of cooking.
- Not cooked sufficiently; insufficiently cooked.
"The steak was underdone, so she asked for it to be cooked a little longer."
"The chef returned the chicken because it was underdone."
"After checking it with a thermometer, he realized the thick steak was still underdone."
Underdone can describe a cooking preference, but with meat it may signal not just an unusual choice but a genuine safety concern.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does underdone come from?
Underdone is an English compound formed from the prefix under- and done, the past participle of do. Its element do comes from Old English dōn, while under- expresses insufficiency or an insufficient degree. In the word’s established culinary sense, done refers to food that has reached the desired stage of cooking.
How underdone is actually used
This is a common, neutral term in British and American English, especially in restaurant, recipe, and food-safety contexts. It is usually used predicatively, after a linking verb. Unlike terms such as rare or medium rare, it focuses on cooking that has fallen short of the desired result rather than naming a precise stage of doneness.
Easily confused with underdone
Undercooked is the more general cooking term, while underdone often has the idiomatic sense of not having been done enough.
Undone can mean unfastened, reversed, or ruined, whereas underdone normally means insufficiently cooked.