as in to sustain
to hold up or serve as a foundation for the central beliefs that underpin a free society

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of underpin Those bits will underpin the new Scout Motors vehicles. Eileen Falkenberg-Hull, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Apr. 2025 Experts are worried the decadeslong trade ties that have underpinned the relationship between the world's two largest economies could be unraveling. Arkansas Online, 14 Apr. 2025 The new tariffs — adding levies of 20 percent on the European Union, 34 percent on China and more — essentially negate the logic behind the global supply chains underpinning the fashion industry. Evan Clark, Footwear News, 3 Apr. 2025 The move amounts to one of the biggest tax increases in modern U.S. history, disrupting the global supply chains that underpin a major swathe of the nation's economic activity, analysts said. Max Zahn, ABC News, 3 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for underpin
Recent Examples of Synonyms for underpin
Verb
  • While no structures were damaged in the fire, firefighters sustained minor injuries.
    Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2025
  • One child who had sustained a head injury before the strikes took place died in the evacuation, the religious authority said.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Macdonald-King said the new charging facility is designed to serve as a transfer point between the specialized trucks that carry freight from the port and other trucks that ply the interstate highways to the east and north.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025
  • One that carries more weight with the context of the previous episode, in which Gibbs discovered that his VA support group leader was Sandman, a deadly sniper the team has been hunting since the pilot.
    Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 24 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Survivors and community members at Florida State University came together to grieve and support each other at a vigil that drew thousands after two people were killed and more were injured in an April 17 campus shooting.
    Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 20 Apr. 2025
  • This helps centers maximize resource recovery and supports the transition to a circular economy.
    Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report, FOXNews.com, 19 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The only evidence against defendant [Weinstein] was the complainants' testimony, and the result of the court's rulings ... was to bolster their credibility and diminish defendant's character before the jury.
    Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, NPR, 20 Apr. 2025
  • Montana is one of 23 states, along with Puerto Rico, that are eligible for the NIH’s Institutional Development Award program, meant to bolster NIH funding in states that historically have received less investment.
    Rae Ellen Bichell and Rachana Pradhan, Miami Herald, 20 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Underpin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/underpin. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025.

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