verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb

1. 1
   To support from below with props or masonry. transitive

   "You should underpin the mine roof to prevent further collapse."

2. 2
   support from beneath wordnet
3. 3
   To give support to; to form a basis of; to corroborate. figuratively, transitive

   "Public confidence in politicians must underpin our democracy."

4. 4
   support with evidence or authority or make more certain or confirm wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

buttressbackback upbearbear outbear up

Example

More examples

"Tom needs to underpin his house as it's subsiding."

Etymology

From under- + pin.

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