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 department also undergirds federal student aid programs for colleges and universities. —

Joel Mathis, theweek, 29 Nov. 2024 Running primetime shows that can’t win a million viewers per night is like allowing termites to keep nibbling away at the wood that undergirds a stately home. —

Brian Steinberg, Variety, 18 Sep. 2024 In addition, the recent DARPA AI Cyber Challenge showed that developers could create new generative AI systems to safeguard critical software that undergirds everything from financial systems and hospitals to public utilities. —

Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2024 Establishing a credible path toward a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza is the only foundation that can undergird long-term security and regional acceptance for Israel and guarantee the normalization of its relations with Saudi Arabia. —

Aluf Benn, Foreign Affairs, 4 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for undergird