underpin

[ uhn-der-pin ]
See synonyms for underpin on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),un·der·pinned, un·der·pin·ning.
  1. to prop up or support from below; strengthen, as by reinforcing a foundation.

  2. to replace or strengthen the foundation of (a building or the like).

  1. to furnish a foundation for; corroborate: The author's conclusions are underpinned by references to experimental findings.

Origin of underpin

1
First recorded in 1515–25; under- + pin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use underpin in a sentence

  • A week later, he got a jar as he stood with Charnock beside a part of the track they had laboriously underpinned.

    The Girl From Keller's | Harold Bindloss
  • "The freight's making good time and when she's gone I must go up the track to the piece the boys underpinned," he said.

    Northwest! | Harold Bindloss
  • The foundation of the south side of the Choir and the south-eastern Transept have been underpinned and thoroughly repaired.

    Ely Cathedral | Anonymous
  • During the latter part of the time its aisle walls were underpinned.

  • Religious laws made for their own government, which underpinned their social life, were rarely meddled with.

    The Jews of Barnow | Karl Emil Franzos

British Dictionary definitions for underpin

underpin

/ (ˌʌndəˈpɪn) /


verb-pins, -pinning or -pinned (tr)
  1. to support from beneath, esp by a prop, while avoiding damaging or weakening the superstructure: to underpin a wall

  2. to give corroboration, strength, or support to

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012