understructure

[ uhn-der-struhk-cher ]
/ ˈʌn dərˌstrʌk tʃər /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR understructure ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a structure serving as a support; a base or foundation: The building has a strong understructure.
any thing, condition, etc., establishing support; a basis: an argument that rests on a sound understructure of knowledge.

Origin of understructure

under- + structure

Words nearby understructure

understorey, understory, understrapper, understratum, understrength, understructure, understudy, undersubscribe, undersurface, undertake, undertaker

Words related to understructure

vault, cellar, storage, ground, seat, foothold, infrastructure, groundwork, support, authority, base, bedrock, preparation, excavation, crypt, bottom, substructure, basis, rest, substratum

Example sentences from the Web for understructure

  • By the June of that year the understructure of the Pier was finished, and the rest was advancing with the speed of paper-hanging.

    Mushroom Town |Oliver Onions

  • Stan saw a Liberator smack into a bursting shell that exploded against her understructure.

    A Yankee Flier with the R.A.F. |Rutherford G. Montgomery

  • The hair at the back of his neck lifted as his understructure raked across the hatch cover of the Jerry.

    A Yankee Flier with the R.A.F. |Rutherford G. Montgomery

  • And I confess that at this close view of the understructure of a polygamous career, I was weak enough to feel scandalized.

    Captain Macedoine's Daughter |William McFee