From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishlie behind something phrasal verbREASONif something lies behind an action, it is the real reason for the action even though it may be hidden She soon guessed what lay behind his question. Two basic assumptions lay behind the policy. → lie→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
lie behind • Presumably a similar border dispute lay behind Aethelbald's attack on Northumbrian territory in 740.• The rest of them kept their eyes fastened on the duke, waiting to see what lay behind his summons.• This trend is shown very clearly in Table 1.1, but what lies behind it?• Ever wonder what collective reasoning lies behind our peculiar national perspective, and who disperses that complex viewpoint to the unwashed masses?• No Damascene trauma lay behind that shift, nor was it to do with John Lawrence's forecasts of national spiritual revival.• The purpose which lies behind the call to obedience is of first importance.• A profound cynicism lies behind the work.• The political motives that lay behind this patronage in no way detract from the superb aesthetic achievement that it produced. 