- lying under; placed beneath
- fundamental; basic: the underlying cause
- really there but not easily seen or noticed: an underlying trend
- Finance having priority, as a claim
Layers of soil underlying the grass.
- A layer of minerals in the soil is an example of underlying minerals.
- A lack of educational opportunity is an example of an underlying cause of poverty.
The definition of underlying refers to something lying beneath, or the basic or root cause of something.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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"underlying." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 18 April 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/UNDERLYING>.
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underlying. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/UNDERLYING
underlying
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"underlying." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 18 April 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/UNDERLYING>.
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underlying. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/UNDERLYING
underlying
adjective
- Lying under or beneath something: underlying strata.
- Basic; fundamental: the underlying cause of the problem.
- Present but not readily noticeable: an underlying meaning.
- Taking precedence; prior: an underlying claim to compensation.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"underlying." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 18 April 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/UNDERLYING>.
APA Style
underlying. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/UNDERLYING
Adjective
(not comparable)
- lying underneath
- We dug down to the underlying rock.
- basic or fundamental
- Points and straight lines are underlying elements of geometry.
- implicit
- Many nursery rhymes have an underlying meaning.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"underlying." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 18 April 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/UNDERLYING>.
APA Style
underlying. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/UNDERLYING
Sentence Examples
- The fossils are few, and in some cases probably derived from the underlying formations.
- Tests gave no indication of an underlying cause.
- The fact that an unprecedented number of earth's inhabitants today live in poverty is an indictment of governments, not a reflection of some underlying natural limit.
- However good her underlying motivations, she still lied, tricked and betrayed him.
- Neoplatonism owes its form to Plato, but its underlying motive is the widespread feeling of self-despair and the longing for divine illumination characteristic of the age in which it appears.
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WORDS NEAR underlying IN THE DICTIONARY
- underlying
- underlugs
- underluminosity
- underluminous