from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
transitive verb To support from below, as with props, girders, or masonry.
transitive verb To give support or substance to.
from The Century Dictionary.
To pin or support underneath; place something under for support or foundation when a previous support is removed; underset; hence, figuratively, to support; prop.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
transitive verb To lay stones, masonry, etc., under, as the sills of a building, on which it is to rest.
transitive verb To support by some solid foundation; to place something underneath for support.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
verb transitive To support from below with props or masonry.
verb transitive, figuratively To give support to; to corroborate.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
verb support with evidence or authority or make more certain or confirm
verb support from beneath
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
under- + pin
Support
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Examples
Students must often 'underpin' their essays with it.
We've picked up a lot of product wins over the last several years with our key customers that kind of underpin it, but we haven't seen a market or systemic change across Cardiac Rhythm Management that is different from before.
We've picked up a lot of product wins over the last several years with our key customers that kind of underpin it, but we haven't seen a market or systemic change across Cardiac Rhythm Management that is different from before.
The current population data that underpin this report were culled from the best sources available on Muslims in each of the 232 countries and territories for which the U.N.
Several bloggers reported on an agreement signed in early June between two leading ICT organisations that will provide unprecedented opportunities for ICT students, create thousands of jobs, and underpin the growth of this nascent industry.
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