underlie

[ uhn-der-lahy ]

/ ˌʌn dərˈlaɪ /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: underlie / underlying on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), un·der·lay, un·der·lain, un·der·ly·ing.

to lie under or beneath; be situated under.

to be at the basis of; form the foundation of.

Grammar. to function as the root morpheme or original or basic form of (a derived form): The form “boy” underlies “boyish.”

Finance. to be primary to another right or security.

QUIZ

GOOSES. GEESES. I WANT THIS QUIZ ON PLURAL NOUNS!

Test how much you really know about regular and irregular plural nouns with this quiz.

Question 1 of 9

Which of the following nouns has an irregular plural form?

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of underlie

before 900; Middle English underlyen (v.), Old English underlicgan.See under-, lie²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use underlie in a sentence

There are some underlying trends in the following vignettes.
The promise of the fourth industrial revolution|Jason Sparapani|November 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review
One of the things that underlie conspiratorial thinking is a teleological bias, the tendency to see intention or planning where it doesn’t exist.
Why America Is Ripe for Election Conspiracy Theorizing - Facts So Romantic|Brian Gallagher|November 17, 2020|Nautilus
Indigenous people were hit disproportionately hard by the pandemic, which compounded the underlying health and environmental injustices they already face.
How the Navajo Nation helped Democrats win Arizona|Rachel Ramirez|November 12, 2020|Vox
He spent a year working with pianist Billy Taylor at New York’s Downbeat jazz club, learning to adapt Cuban rhythms to the more flexible notion of “swing” that underlies American jazz.
Candido Camero, ‘father of modern conga drumming,’ dies at 99|Matt Schudel|November 12, 2020|Washington Post

“In essence the underlying business models for Uber and Lyft were hanging in the balance if Prop 22 did not pass in California to keep the contractor model,” Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives wrote in a research note Wednesday morning.
Uber and Lyft shares soar after a California labor-protections vote goes their way|Phil Wahba|November 4, 2020|Fortune
The whole region is underlain by nearly horizontal and undisturbed rocks of the Palaeozoic from the Devonian downward.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2|Various
This material is underlain by a subsoil of yellow silt loam slightly heavier than the soil.
History and Comprehensive Description of Loudoun County, Virginia|James W. Head
That principle had underlain the military policy of the nineteenth century both before and after Confederation.
The Story of the Great War, Volume VIII (of VIII)|various
No ice action whatever is visible below the snowline and the snow itself, though wet and compact, is not underlain by ice.
The Andes of Southern Peru|Isaiah Bowman
Soils containing considerable calcium or underlain with limestone are well adapted to the growing of the crop.
The Vegetable Garden|Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for underlie

underlie

/ (ˌʌndəˈlaɪ) /

verb -lies, -lying, -lay or -lain (tr)

to lie or be placed under or beneath

to be the foundation, cause, or basis ofcareful planning underlies all our decisions

finance to take priority over (another claim, liability, mortgage, etc)a first mortgage underlies a second

to be the root or stem from which (a word) is derived"happy" underlies "happiest"

Derived forms of underlie

underlier, noun

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

underlie

Origin of underlie

Words related to underlie

How to use underlie in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for underlie

Derived forms of underlie