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Definitions

underpinnings



NOUN
supporting structure
Synonyms


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The underpinnings of the department’s proposed rule is that the fiduciary process must be undertaken by loyal and conflict-free plan fiduciaries.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

Indeed, Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt won this year’s Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for establishing the theoretical underpinnings of this dynamic.

From Barron's • Dec. 1, 2025

But it only ever feels like homage, not anything organic — Stuckmann doesn’t have his mentor’s storytelling smarts, nor his flair for the underpinnings of normality that ground horror.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 23, 2025

Brent Ellis, principal analyst at market researcher Forrester, said the outage exposed what he called the "nested dependency" between popular digital platforms and the array of services providing the web's technical underpinnings.

From BBC • Oct. 21, 2025

I was attracted to the scientific underpinnings of dialectical materialism, for I am always inclined to trust what I can verify.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela