adj, noun, verb ·4 syllables ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The entity from whose performance a derivative derives its value.

Verb

1. 1
   present participle and gerund of underlie form-of, gerund, participle, present

Adjective

1. 1
   lying underneath not-comparable

   "We dug down to the underlying rock."

2. 2
   basic or fundamental not-comparable

   "Points and straight lines are underlying elements of geometry."

3. 3
   implicit not-comparable

   "Many nursery rhymes have an underlying meaning."

Adjective

1. 1
   in the nature of something though not readily apparent wordnet
2. 2
   being or involving basic facts or principles wordnet
3. 3
   located beneath or below wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

basicab ovobasalbasilarbetween the linesbottom

Example

More examples

"We should understand the underlying premises."

Etymology

By surface analysis, underlie + -ing.

Related phrases

underlying formunderlying functorunderlying set

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.