underlying
lying underneath.
Example
“We dug down to the underlying rock.”
Other meanings
basic or fundamental.
“Points and straight lines are underlying elements of geometry.”
Synonyms
- fundamental
- rudimentary
Related words
- underlyingly
- underlyingness
- underlying form
- underlying functor
- underlying set
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “underlying” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; related-word lists use Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0, based on Princeton WordNet), published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.