Definition of undergird
transitive verb
1 archaic : to make secure underneath took measures to undergird the ship — Acts 27:17 (Revised Standard Version)
2 : to form the basis or foundation of : strengthen, support facts and statistics subtly undergird his commentary — Susan Q. Stranahan
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Examples of undergird in a Sentence
the theory of evolution undergirds virtually all of modern biology
Recent Examples of undergird from the Web
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After decades of rapid expansion undergirded by strict sentencing laws, US prisons are slowly paring the numbers behind bars, currently 2.3 million.
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Not to be counted out is Miss Martha, whose sense of propriety is undergirded with glimmers of warmth and mischief in Kidman’s delicious performance.
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Three years later, Farnham's business, K&R/Christopher Inc., made the local news for a high profile job, a $500,000 contract applying a high-tech finish on structural steel that undergirds the building's glass exterior.
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I was knocked out by the quartet's 2015 debut, Clockworking (Sono Luminus), which undergirded its meditative ethereality with thick textures and structural rigor.
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In its populist incarnations, the trend appears to threaten the values that have undergirded Western social order since World War II – values such as cultural and economic openness and centrism.
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Warner’s reputation as one of the most bipartisan politicians on Capitol Hill is undergirding the credibility of the Senate probe, observers say.
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Among the biggest market forces undergirding the high-profile opposition to Trump’s climate policies is the recent embrace of clean energy.
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The philosophy undergirding the speech, administration officials said, is that melding public and private forces to rebuild the nation’s physical backbone will vastly expand the resources available to pay for doing it.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'undergird.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
The English verb gird means, among other things, "to encircle or bind with a flexible band." When undergird first entered English in the 16th century it meant "to make secure underneath," as by passing a rope or chain underneath something (such as a ship). That literal sense has long since fallen out of use, but in the 19th century undergird picked up the figurative "strengthen" or "support" sense that we still use. Gird and consequently undergird both derive from the Old English geard, meaning "enclosure" or "yard." Gird also gives us girder, a noun referring to a horizontal piece supporting a structure.
First Known Use of undergird
1526
UNDERGIRD Defined for English Language Learners
undergird
playDefinition of undergird for English Language Learners
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: to strengthen or support (something) from below
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