Showing results for "underlay"

• past tense form of underlie.

underlay

American  

[uhn-der-ley, uhn-der-ley] / ˌʌn dərˈleɪ, ˈʌn dərˌleɪ /

verb (used with object)

underlays, present (3rd person singular) underlaid, past participle, past underlaying present participle

1. to lay under or beneath.

2. to provide with something laid underneath; raise or support with something laid underneath.

   The manufacturer underlays the chrome finish with a zinc coating.

3. to extend across the bottom of.

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noun

underlays plural

1. something underlaid.

2. Printing. a piece or pieces of paper put under type or cuts to bring them to the proper height for printing.

underlay British  

verb

1. to place (something) under or beneath

2. to support by something laid beneath

3. to achieve the correct printing pressure all over (a forme block) or to bring (a block) up to type height by adding material, such as paper, to the appropriate areas beneath it

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noun

1. a layer, lining, support, etc, laid underneath something else

2. printing material, such as paper, used to underlay a forme or block

3. felt, rubber, etc, laid beneath a carpet to increase insulation and resilience

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• underlays
  plural

Participles

• underlaying
  present
• underlaid
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• underlay
  simple
• underlays
  simple
• have underlaid
  perfect
• has underlaid
  perfect
• am underlaying
  progressive
• are underlaying
  progressive
• is underlaying
  progressive
• have been underlaying
  perfect progressive
• has been underlaying
  perfect progressive

Past

• underlaid
  simple
• had underlaid
  perfect
• was underlaying
  progressive
• were underlaying
  progressive
• had been underlaying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will underlay
  simple
• will have underlaid
  perfect
• will be underlaying
  progressive
• will have been underlaying
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of underlay

before 900; Middle English underleyen, Old English underlecgan; see under-, lay ¹

Explanation

To underlay a thing is to give it a foundation or support by putting something sturdy under it. Underlay also means to be underneath. Something that underlays something else provides a base for that thing, whether it's the foundation of a building, the paper backing of a decal, or the fundamental ideas of a theory. As a noun, underlay refers to the padding that's laid out under carpet and other kinds of flooring.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

underlay underlays underlaid underlaying

In postproduction, Del Toro sometimes underlay Elordi’s screams with his own guttural noises or the roars of lions and gorillas, imagining a voice created by mismatched lungs and a throat from different people.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2025

It is more breathable but is often installed where a highly-resistant underlay like bitumen felt is already present, stopping vapour from escaping.

From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2024

California created an orchard for the world in large part by tapping into prehistoric aquifers that underlay the Central Valley.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2024

The turf was intended to function as an underlay for a plastic liner atop it as part of a construction project.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 22, 2023

The music of the pearl was triumphant in Kino’s head, and the quiet melody of the family underlay it, and they wove themselves into the soft padding of sandaled feet in the dust.

From "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck

“Gimme Shelter” just underlays Melania Trump sitting on a plane, a boring scene that gains no urgency from the song.

From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2026

Court documents accuse Salesforce.com of working closely with Backpage on the database that underlays the business. Salesforce.com is best known for making software that firms use to monitor and manage sales relationships with customers.

From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2019

The designer often layered florals and prints over dark underlays - perhaps a message to see the brighter side of things.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 22, 2017

The designer often layered florals and prints over dark underlays — perhaps a message to see the brighter side of things.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 22, 2017

She used his manuscript scores for curling papers and underlays for the pastry, and wrote to him when he was in England for money to buy a "widow's home."

From Haydn by Hadden, J. Cuthbert (James Cuthbert)

A lack of trust in government and health systems in the UK "underlaid susceptibility to false information", it added, and said action was needed to rebuild public trust in vaccines more generally.

From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2026

Patriotic pride has also underlaid British media coverage of Aden Durde, who improbably learnt American football in London's Finsbury Park and ended up as a defensive coordinator for the Seahawks.

From Barron's ● Feb. 7, 2026

The clip was underlaid by fawning discussion of his “mythical” rise from the outer boroughs to the White House.

From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2025

A key scene comes toward the end, when Sister Mary invites Bill in and they have what appears to be a mundane discussion but one that is underlaid with a threat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2024

It was backed by silver filigree, underlaid with red satin, and it had a small silver handle.

From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare

I was excited to get back to the medicine because it’s a kind of performance that is totally integrated — it’s physical, it’s intellectual, it’s emotional, it’s professional, underlaying humanity and reality to it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2025

WikiLeaks promotes the ideal of "scientific journalism" - where the underlaying evidence of all articles is available to the reader precisely inorder to avoid these type of distortions.

From Salon ● Mar. 5, 2011

The first of these shows both flat and raised work: the latter illustrates not only various degrees of relief, but several ways of underlaying.

From Art in Needlework A Book about Embroidery by Buckle, Mary