underlie

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underlie

/ˌʌn.dəˈlaɪ/ UK
/ˌʌn.dɚˈlaɪ/ US
/ˌan.dəˈlɑɪ/ Australia

Rhymes with -aɪ

Where it comes from

From Middle English underlien, underliggen, from Old English underliċġan (“to underlie, to be subject to, give way to”), equivalent to under- + lie. Cognate with Dutch onderliggen (“to lie below, lie on the bottom of”), German unterliegen (“to lie under, be subject to, succumb”).

verb underlies · underlying · underlay · underlain

intransitive To lie in a position directly beneath something.
transitive To lie under or beneath. A stratum of clay underlies the surface gravel.
transitive To serve as a basis of; form the foundation of. a doctrine underlying a theory
Similar: underpin
transitive To be subject to; be liable to answer, as a charge or challenge. The knight of Ivanhoe […] underlies the challenge of Brian der Bois Guilbert.
To underlay.

Translations

Every language

verb to serve as a basis of

Español	subyacer
日本語	基礎となる kiso to naru
中文	构成基础
Português	fundamentar, basear, embasar, sustentar, subjazer
Français	sous-tendre
Deutsch	zugrunde liegen

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Cite this

MLA

"underlie." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/underlie. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

underlie. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/underlie

Chicago

"underlie." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/underlie.

BibTeX

@misc{underlie_2026,
  title = {underlie},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/underlie},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}