51Թ

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underlie

[ uhn-der-lahy ]

verb (used with object)

underlay, underlain, underlying.
  1. to lie under or beneath; be situated under.
  2. to be at the basis of; form the foundation of.
  3. Grammar. to function as the root morpheme or original or basic form of (a derived form):

    The form “boy” underlies “boyish.”

  4. Finance. to be primary to another right or security.


underlie

/ ˌʌԻəˈɪ /

verb

  1. to lie or be placed under or beneath
  2. to be the foundation, cause, or basis of

    careful planning underlies all our decisions

  3. finance to take priority over (another claim, liability, mortgage, etc)

    a first mortgage underlies a second

  4. to be the root or stem from which (a word) is derived

    "happy" underlies "happiest"

“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈܲԻˌ, noun
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of underlie1

before 900; Middle English underlyen (v.), Old English underlicgan. See under-, lie 2
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Morgan’s reply may be apocryphal, but it encompasses the truism that investors should divorce their emotional response to the markets from the cold analysis that should underlie investment decisions, if possible.

From

“There needs to be some massive structural changes to address the underlying issues, and I can’t see them proposing anything that will possibly come close,” Mitchell wrote in an email.

From

At nearly a foot long, the claws themselves were much larger than their underlying bone, the study revealed.

From

The assumption that underlies this is that a mouse or monkey brain serves as an adequate, if simplified, proxy for the human.

From

Because the risk is that by pushing back against the falsehood you are keeping the underlying issue at the top of the agenda.

From

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