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Definition of underpinning
1 : the material and construction (such as a foundation) used for support of a structure
2 : something that serves as a foundation : basis, support —often used in plural the philosophical underpinnings of educational methods
3 : underwear —usually used in plural
4 : a person's legs —usually used in plural
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Examples of underpinning in a Sentence
the underpinnings of the theory have recently been called into question
the underpinnings of the bridge were seriously damaged in the collision
Recent Examples of underpinning from the Web
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Our country faces a new crisis, one which endangers the underpinnings of representative democracy and freedom worldwide.
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Therefore the law ought to be kept even when its ethical underpinnings are not understood.
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And what on earth was the purpose of equivocating about the critical commitment to Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, undermining the core underpinning of the Atlantic alliance — and then affirming it anyway?
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My personal opinion was, this speaks to that whole underpinning of what makes the United States tick — freedom of religion.
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Her research beyond that is exhaustive, from identifying underpinnings of the movement that date back hundreds of years to digging into study after study of marriage and the lot of women in contemporary society.
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The doctrine also provided the legal underpinnings of the National Security Agency's telephone metadata snooping program disclosed by whistleblower Edward Snowden.
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This suggests that some motor problems in people with autism have genetic underpinnings.
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The plaintiffs explained it through a cavalcade of charts, S-curves and graphs meant to simplify the dense mathematical underpinning.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'underpinning'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of underpinning
15th century
Learn More about underpinning
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for underpinning Nglish: Translation of underpinning for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of underpinning for Arabic speakers
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