undergird
verb
undergird is spelled U-N-D-E-R-G-I-R-D: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 21 million words in written English, the 138,319th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, undergird means “To strengthen, secure, or reinforce by passing a rope, cable, or chain around the underside of an object” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in undergird?
| Letters | 9: U-N-D-E-R-G-I-R-D |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 21 million words; the 138,319th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is undergird?
Undergird appears about once in every 21 million words in written English, the 138,319th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce undergird?
- US
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-undergird.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of undergird
- undergirds present, singular, he/she/it
- undergirding participle, present
- undergirded participle, past
- undergirt participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does undergird mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To strengthen, secure, or reinforce by passing a rope, cable, or chain around the underside of an object.
- 2
To give fundamental support; provide with a sound or secure basis; provide supportive evidence for.
- 3
To lend moral support to.
- 4
To secure below or underneath.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Undergird in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense lend moral support to:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | unterfüttern |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does undergird come from?
From under- + gird.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).