Thesaurus: underlie

Related headwords

Definitions

1. v. t. To lie under; to rest beneath; to be situated under; as, a stratum of clay underlies the surface gravel.
2. v. t. To be at the basis of; to form the foundation of; to support; as, a doctrine underlying a theory.
3. v. t. To be subject or amenable to.
4. v. i. To lie below or under.
5. n. See Underlay, n., 1.
6. v. be or form the base for
7. v. lie underneath
8. 1. To lie under; to rest beneath; to be situated under; as, a stratum of clay underlies the surface gravel. 2. To be at the basis of; to form the foundation of; to support; as, a doctrine underlying a theory. 3. To be subject or amenable to. [R.] The knight of Ivanhoe . . . underlies the challenge of Brian der Bois Guilbert. Sir W. Scott. To lie below or under. See Underlay, n., 1.
9. v:100 v. be or form the base for v. lie underneath