From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishunderpinun‧der‧pin /ˌʌndəˈpɪn $ -ər-/ ●○○ verb (underpinned, underpinning) [transitive] 1 PROVEto give strength or support to something and to help it succeed the theories that underpin his teaching method America’s wealth is underpinned by a global system which exploits the world’s poor.2 STRONG OBJECT technical to put a solid piece of metal under a wall or house in order to make it stronger —underpinning noun [countable, uncountable]→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
underpin• Good independent journalism underpins a free, democratic society.• These two scientific discoveries have underpinned modern agriculture.• The home loans underpinned mortgage bonds.• Such hopes have underpinned the euro's recovery against the dollar over the past month or so.• This mindset underpins the future of food.• This was at odds with the view of mathematics and the theory of learning underpinning the innovation with which she was involved.• Contract law has been of major importance in underpinning the market, although other areas of law have also had a bearing.• We firmly believe it must also underpin the operations of the minerals industry.• We very much hope that such reforms will underpin the peace process.From Longman Business Dictionaryunderpinun‧der‧pin /ˌʌndəˈpɪn-ər-/ verb (underpinned, underpinning) [transitive] to provide a strong financial basis for somethingA firm overnight performance on Wall Street also helped underpin the market, which had presented a mixed picture in early dealing.→ See Verb table 