underlying

American  

[uhn-der-lahy-ing] / ˈʌn dərˌlaɪ ɪŋ /

adjective

1. lying or situated beneath, as a substratum.

2. fundamental; basic.

   the underlying cause of their discontent.

3. implicit; discoverable only by close scrutiny or analysis.

   an underlying seriousness in his witticisms.

4. (of a claim, mortgage, etc.) taking precedence; anterior; prior.

5. Linguistics. belonging to an earlier stage in the transformational derivation of a sentence or other structure; belonging to the deep structure.

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underlying British  

/ ˌʌndəˈlaɪɪŋ /

adjective

1. concealed but detectable

   underlying guilt

2. fundamental; basic

3. lying under

4. finance (of a claim, liability, etc) taking precedence; prior

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Usage

What does underlying mean? Underlying most literally means situated underneath—lying under something, as in We have to fix the underlying layer before repairing the surface.Underlying perhaps most commonly means fundamental or basic. This sense of the word is used to describe things that are the basis, foundation, or cause of something else. A person’s underlying beliefs are their most essential beliefs, the ones that all their other beliefs, opinions, or values are based on. A single, underlying issue may be the basis of many other problems. Symptoms are caused by an underlying condition or disease.Less commonly, underlying can be used to describe something that lies beneath in a figurative way, especially something that’s difficult to detect because it’s partially hidden, such as underlying guilt or the underlying theme of a poem.Underlying is also the continuous tense (ing- form) of the verb underlie, meaning to literally lie beneath or to be the basis or foundation of, as in This is the main problem that underlies all the other issues. In a financial context, underlying is used more narrowly as a way of indicating what came first or what has precedence, such as in things like mortgages or insurance claims.Example: We are still working to determine the underlying cause of the collapse.

Etymology

Origin of underlying

First recorded in 1605–15; underlie + -ing ²

Example Sentences

In other surveys, the Department of Angels has identified insurance problems, most frequently with State Farm, as an underlying cause.

From Los Angeles Times

“If you go back and plot the price of bitcoin, once it became clear that spot bitcoin ETFs would get approved, there was a clear rally in the underlying bitcoin asset class,” Ullal said.

From MarketWatch

Sayers praised the art underlying the artifice, paraphrasing Aristotle on the practice of literary deception.

From The Wall Street Journal

Despite the underlying momentum, sharp swings in trade policy over the course of the year sent the economic data on a roller coaster ride.

From BBC

But the underlying trend suggests little need for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates to fuel growth.

From Barron's

Related Words

• basic
• elemental
• hidden