Underlie definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary

underlie in British English · 1. to lie or be placed under or beneath · 2. to be the foundation, cause, or basis of. careful planning underlies all our decisions. EnglishDictionary Thesaurus WordLists Grammar EnglishEasyLearningGrammar GrammarPatterns EnglishUsage TeachingResources VideoGuides Conjugations Sentences Quiz Englishgrammar Englishcollocations Englishconfusables Englishidioms Englishusage Thematicwordlists English French German Italian Spanish Portuguese Hindi Chinese Korean Definitionof 'underlie'    WordFrequency Share× Credits× underlie (ʌndəʳlaɪ ) Wordforms:3rdpersonsingularpresent tenseunderlies ,presentparticipleunderlying ,pasttenseunderlay ,pastparticipleunderlain 1. verb Ifsomethingunderliesafeelingorsituation,itisthecauseorbasisofit. Trytofigureoutwhatfeelingunderliesyouranger.[VERBnoun] ...theenergywhichseemstounderlieallhumansuccess.[VERBnoun] 2. Seealsounderlying COBUILDAdvancedEnglishDictionary.Copyright©HarperCollinsPublishers Video:pronunciationof underlie Youmayalsolike EnglishQuizConfusables LanguageLover'sBlog FrenchTranslationof'underlie' Translateyourtext PronunciationPlaylists Wordoftheday:'Valentine'sday' HindiTranslationof'underlie' NEWfromCollins! EnglishGrammar CollinsApps WordFrequency underlieinBritishEnglish (ˌʌndəˈlaɪ ) verbWordforms:-lies,-lying,-layor-lain(transitive)1. tolieorbeplacedunderorbeneath 2. tobethefoundation,cause,orbasisof carefulplanningunderliesallourdecisions 3. finance totakepriorityover(anotherclaim,liability,mortgage,etc) afirstmortgageunderliesasecond 4. tobetherootorstemfromwhich(aword)isderived "happy"underlies"happiest" CollinsEnglishDictionary.Copyright©HarperCollinsPublishers Derivedformsunderlier(ˈunderˌlier)noun WordFrequency underlieinAmericanEnglish (ˌʌndərˈlaɪ ) verbtransitiveWordforms:ˌunderˈlay,ˌunderˈlain,ˌunderˈlying1.  tolieunderorbeneath trussesunderlietheroof 2.  tobethebasisfor;formthefoundationof 3. Finance tohavepriorityover(another)inorderofclaim,asabond Webster’sNewWorldCollegeDictionary,4thEdition.Copyright©2010by HoughtonMifflinHarcourt.Allrightsreserved. WordoriginMEunderlien