underlie
/ˌʌn.dɚˈlaɪ/verb
underlie is spelled U-N-D-E-R-L-I-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,680th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, underlie means “To lie in a position directly beneath something” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in underlie?
| Letters | 8: U-N-D-E-R-L-I-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 42,680th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is underlie?
Underlie appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,680th 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 underlie?
- UK /ˌʌn.dəˈlaɪ/
- US /ˌʌn.dɚˈlaɪ/
- Australia /ˌan.dəˈlɑɪ/
Underlie has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-underlie.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with underlie?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as underlie from its last stressed vowel (/aɪ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of underlie
- underlies present, singular, he/she/it
- underlying participle, present
- underlay past
- underlain participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does underlie mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To lie in a position directly beneath something.
- 2
To lie under or beneath.
A stratum of clay underlies the surface gravel.
- 3
To serve as a basis of; form the foundation of.
a doctrine underlying a theory
- 4
To be subject to; be liable to answer, as a charge or challenge.
- 5
To underlay.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Underlie in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to serve as a basis of:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sous-tendre |
| German | zugrunde liegen |
| Portuguese | fundamentar, basear, embasar, sustentar, subjazer |
| Spanish | subyacer |
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 underlie come from?
From Middle English underlien, underliggen, from Old English underliċġan (“to underlie, to be subject to, give way to”), equivalent to under- + lie. Cognate with Dutch onderliggen (“to lie below, lie on the bottom of”), German unterliegen (“to lie under, be subject to, succumb”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).