'Underlie' definitions:
Definition of 'underlie'
From: WordNet
verb
Be or form the base for
verb
Lie underneath
Definition of 'Underlie'
From: GCIDE
- Underlie \Un`der*lie"\, v. i. To lie below or under. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Underlie'
From: GCIDE
- Underlie \Un`der*lie"\, v. t. [AS. underlicgan. See Under, and Lie to be prostrate.]
- 1. To lie under; to rest beneath; to be situated under; as, a stratum of clay underlies the surface gravel. [1913 Webster]
- 2. To be at the basis of; to form the foundation of; to support; as, a doctrine underlying a theory. [1913 Webster]
- 3. To be subject or amenable to. [R.] [1913 Webster]
- The knight of Ivanhoe . . . underlies the challenge of Brian der Bois Guilbert. --Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'underlie'
From: GCIDE
- Underlay \Un"der*lay`\, n.
- 1. (Mining) The inclination of a vein, fault, or lode from the vertical; a hade; -- called also underlie. [1913 Webster]
- 2. (Print.) A thickness of paper, pasteboard, or the like, placed under a cut, or stereotype plate, or under type, in the form, to bring it, or any part of it, to the proper height; also, something placed back of a part of the tympan, so as to secure the right impression. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'underlie'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- afford support,
- back,
- back up,
- be latent,
- bear,
- bear up,
- bed on,
- bolster,
- bolster up,
- bottom on,
- brace,
- build on,
- buoy up,
- buttress,
- carry,
- couch,
- cradle,
- crawl,
- crouch,
- crutch,
- cushion,
- escape notice,
- found on,
- give support,
- ground on,
- grovel,
- hibernate,
- hold,
- hold up,
- hug the earth,
- keep afloat,
- keep up,
- lend support,
- lie beneath,
- lie dormant,
- lie hid,
- lie low,
- lie prone,
- lie prostrate,
- lie under,
- lurk,
- mainstay,
- maintain,
- make no sign,
- pillow,
- prop,
- reinforce,
- set on,
- shore,
- shore up,
- shoulder,
- smolder,
- squat,
- stay,
- subsidize,
- subvention,
- support,
- sustain,
- underbrace,
- undergird,
- underpin,
- underset,
- upbear,
- uphold,
- upkeep