undergird
Americanverb (used with object)
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to strengthen; secure, as by passing a rope or chain under and around.
to undergird a top-heavy load.
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to give fundamental support; provide with a sound or secure basis.
ethics undergirded by faith.
verb
Etymology
Origin of undergird
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
High stock valuations and low unemployment, meanwhile, have bolstered spending among richer households while allowing Americans of more modest means to spend at levels adequate to undergird a six-year-old expansion.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
They also undergird yields on the corporate bonds that companies use for funding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Insider-trading rules backed by criminal penalties undergird confident stock trading.
From Barron's ● Jan. 2, 2026
We try and understand the meaning systems that undergird whatever group we’re studying.
From Salon ● Nov. 20, 2025
Its sympathy, Doth undergird the drooping, and uphold The foot that falters in its miry path.
From Man of Uz, and Other Poems by Lydia Howard Sigourney
But Mr. Hunter’s economy of means, which extends to often terse or quiet dialogue undergirded by melancholy subtext, only enhances the tenderness and humanity of his writing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
Yet complacency, undergirded by the remarkable strength of the stock market, is precisely what U.S. leaders are showing.
From Barron's ● Mar. 7, 2026
But the story’s many twists and hair’s-breadth escapes — its devolution into a Holocaust picaresque — lack the foundation of historical truth that undergirded the writer’s debut effort.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2025
Day center activities are undergirded with building relationships because, as Towey explains, “relationship is what drives outcomes and impact.”
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 26, 2024
I devoured the books because they were the rays of light peeking out from the doorframe, and perhaps past that door there was another world, one beyond the gripping fear that undergirded the Dream.
From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Yet the factors undergirding the market’s comeback are both relatively straightforward and well-grounded in fundamentals, according to Société Générale strategist Manish Kabra.
From MarketWatch ● May 7, 2026
That’s the principle undergirding the AI industry’s vast expenditures on data centers and high-performance chips.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2025
The concerns undergirding the report not only remain but "show no signs of abating," according to Sheri Berman, a Barnard College professor of political science who studies authoritarianism and democracy.
From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2025
The work to produce and analyze the synthetic droplets is the result of a combination of deeply integrated interdisciplinarity and the human factors undergirding scientific work.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 25, 2024
The fireplace, the beams undergirding the loft, the tools dangling off nails on the walls.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
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