undergird
verb
Acts 27:17 (Revised Standard Version)Susan Q. Stranahan
Did you know?
When undergird was a new word in the 16th century, it was ships that were undergirded—that is, made secure below—and the undergirding was done by passing a rope or chain underneath. That literal sense has long since fallen out of use, but in the 19th century undergird picked up the figurative “strengthen” or “support” meaning that we still use. Centuries before anything was undergirded, however, people and things could be girded—that is, encircled or bound with a flexible band, such as a belt. Girding today is more often about preparing oneself to fight or to do something difficult, as in “girding themselves for an ideological battle.” About as old as gird is the word’s close relation, girdle, which originally referred to an article of clothing that circles the body usually at the waist; the girdles of today address the same anatomical territory but with the squeezy aim of making the waist look thinner. Gird also gives us girder, a noun referring to a horizontal piece supporting a structure.
Examples of undergird in a Sentence
Will Collins, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2025
Power Train and Hardware Both trim levels are undergirded by a 94 kWh battery and two motors—one driving the front wheels, the other driving the rears—for all-wheel-drive capability.
—Brett Berk, Robb Report, 18 Sep. 2025
The measurement for streaming viewership has come under fire in recent weeks, notably against Nielsen, which provides the third-party ratings currency that undergirds the $5 billion-plus TV advertising market.
—Jason Clinkscales, Sportico.com, 15 Sep. 2025
New manufacturing facilities, such as those making semiconductors, and the data centers that undergird the country’s artificial intelligence ambitions consume unprecedented amounts of electricity.
—Brian Deese, Foreign Affairs, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for undergird
Cite this Entry
“Undergird.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/undergird. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
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undergird
verb
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