undergird

verb

un·der·gird ˌən-dər-ˈgərd

undergirded; undergirding; undergirds

Synonyms of undergird next

transitive verb

archaic : to make secure underneath

took measures to undergird the ship—

Acts 27:17 (Revised Standard Version)

: to form the basis or foundation of : strengthen, support

facts and statistics subtly undergird his commentary—

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

the theory of evolution undergirds virtually all of modern biology

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The discoveries in these regions have undergirded a nascent area of scientific inquiry. —

The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 31 Dec. 2024 The same impulse undergirds Georgians’ repeatedly expressed preference for liberal democracy, which is valued not only on its own terms but also as a bulwark against Russian-style tyranny. —

Christian Caryl, Foreign Affairs, 26 Dec. 2024 One theory undergirding the live event, according to the sources, is that many viewers are open to new options and alternatives to traditional political coverage. —

Brian Stelter, CNN, 29 Sep. 2024 For a hybrid team, this is exactly the right place to start building the social contract that undergirds everything the team does. —

Ann Kowal Smith, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for undergird