underlie
verb/ˌʌndəˈlaɪ/
/ˌʌndərˈlaɪ/
[no passive] (formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they underlie | /ˌʌndəˈlaɪ/ /ˌʌndərˈlaɪ/ |
| he / she / it underlies | /ˌʌndəˈlaɪz/ /ˌʌndərˈlaɪz/ |
| past simple underlay | /ˌʌndəˈleɪ/ /ˌʌndərˈleɪ/ |
| past participle underlain | /ˌʌndəˈleɪn/ /ˌʌndərˈleɪn/ |
| -ing form underlying | /ˌʌndəˈlaɪɪŋ/ /ˌʌndərˈlaɪɪŋ/ |
- underlie something to be the basis or cause of something
- These ideas underlie much of his work.
- It is a principle that underlies all the party's policies.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryUnderlie is used with these nouns as the subject:- assumption
- issue
- philosophy
- …
Word OriginOld English underlicgan ‘be subject or subordinate to’ (from under-, lie1).
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underlie