Word.ws English Dictionary

underlies

underlies is the third-person singular simple present indicative of underlie.

Meaning of underlie

Verb

underlie (third-person singular simple present underlies, present participle underlying, simple past underlay, past participle underlain)

  1. (intransitive) To lie in a position directly beneath something.
  2. (transitive) To lie under or beneath.
    • A stratum of clay underlies the surface gravel.
  3. (transitive) To serve as a basis of; form the foundation of.
    • a doctrine underlying a theory
    Synonyms:
    underpin
  4. (transitive) To be subject to; be liable to answer, as a charge or challenge.
    • The knight of Ivanhoe […] underlies the challenge of Brian der Bois Guilbert.1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co....
  5. To underlay.

Questions about underlies

What is underlies the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Underlies is the third-person singular simple present indicative of underlie.

Words near underlies in the dictionary

  1. underlicensed
  2. underlie
  3. underlied
  4. underlier
  5. underliers
  6. underlies
  7. underliest
  8. underlieth
  9. underlieutenant
  10. underlieutenants
  11. underlife

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: underlies (page history and authors); underlie (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “underlies.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/underlies. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.