underpinnings

/ (ˈʌndəˌpɪnɪŋz) /


pl n
  1. any supporting structure or system

Words Nearby underpinnings

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

How to use underpinnings in a sentence

  • The gate of the nameless mausoleum had not been opened for many years, and the wind had heaped the dirt against the underpinnings.

    The Enemies of Women | Vicente Blasco Ibez
  • Hewn-stone underpinnings were seldom adopted in those days; the brick-work rests directly upon the solid walls of the cellar.

    An Old Town By The Sea | Thomas Bailey Aldrich
  • Either I should have slowed down or waited until they could put in some re-enforced-concrete underpinnings.

    One Third Off | Irvin S. Cobb
  • Between this oddly opposed pair stands on her solid, sensible underpinnings the figure of Candida.

    Iconoclasts | James Huneker
  • That ship you talked of is awfully plated up topside, but all her underpinnings are pretty weak.

    A Fleet in Being | Rudyard Kipling