Underlie
[ʌndə'laɪ] or [,ʌndɚ'laɪ]
Definition
(v. t.) To lie under; to rest beneath; to be situated under; as, a stratum of clay underlies the surface gravel.
(v. t.) To be at the basis of; to form the foundation of; to support; as, a doctrine underlying a theory.
(v. t.) To be subject or amenable to.
(v. i.) To lie below or under.
(n.) See Underlay, n., 1.
Typed by Carolyn
Definition
v.t. to lie under or beneath: to be liable to.—adj. Underly′ing lying under or lower in position: supporting fundamental.
Checker: Spenser
Examples
- The metal underlying the silver plate of the best plated teaspoons is of nickel silver, a trade name for a metal composed of nickel, copper and zinc. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Muhammad's appeal, for example, was to the traditional chivalry and underlying monotheistic feelings of the intelligent Arabs of his time. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The underlying phenomena were similar, the difference consisting largely in the arrangement of the circuits and apparatus. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- Mo reover, the electrical theory of matter lends support to the hypothesis that there is a fundamental unitary element underlying all the so-called elements. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- However, he early began his collection of minerals and observed the relation of the soil and the vegetation to the underlying ro cks. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- The underlying churchyard was already settling into deep dim shade, and the shade was creeping up to the housetops among which they sat. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Look, here is a trifle of the red that underlay the gilt. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- But consider the romance that underlay it! Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- America does not play with ideas; generous speculation is regarded as insincere, and shunned as if it might endanger the optimism which underlies success. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- If called upon to name the most important of all factors of human existence, that which underlies and sustains all others, even to life itself, everyone must agree that it is _food_. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- We look at the great picture and we admire the genius of the artist, but how rarely we realize the no less wonderful patience, the no less wonderful struggle that underlies what we see. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- One motive was the need of a measurement of time, the same motive as underlies the common interest in the calendar and almanac. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
Checker: Thelma