Definition of "underlie" []

• To be located under or below. (verb-transitive)
• To be the support or basis of; account for: Many factors underlie my decision. (verb-transitive)
• To constitute a prior financial claim over: Dividends for preferred stock underlie those of common stock. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "He calls it the "underlying principles" approach, which in his words, "discern [s] from the text the deeper underlying principles that underlie is particular injunctions.""
• "December 18, 2006 • 6: 45 pm the shia thug from mumbai her words gilded silence as her thoughts zip by ravishing my soul choking my unborn cry my tongue tie her shut lips her shut mouth her shut doors my pain underlie golden silence imply one sided love blinded in an eye hope runs dry crushed by the weight of another good bye picture shot by mr subash solanki of subash electronics posted 12 oct 2006"
• "All the same, the calls underlie the urgency of an Iowa-or-bust race that pits U.S. Rep."