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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “underlie”

“underlie” is pronounced /ˌʌndɚˈlaɪ/ (un-duh-LY) in American English and /ʌndəlaɪ/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “lie”.
The sound

Say “underlie” in 3 beats

Say it like this

underlie

/ˌʌndɚˈlaɪ/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ʌndəlaɪ/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

3 beats
  1. unʌn
  2. derdɚ
  3. lielaɪstress
IPA (American)
/ˌʌndɚˈlaɪ/
IPA (British)
/ʌndəlaɪ/
Respelling
un-duh-LY
Syllables
3 — un-der-LIE
Stress
Stress the third syllable: un-der-LIE. “lie” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌʌndɚˈlaɪ/

British

/ʌndəlaɪ/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “underlie” means

  1. verb

    be or form the base for

  2. verb

    lie underneath

Say it in a sentence

“Old mine workings underlie most of this hillside.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ʌshort unnddɚschwallaɪlong i

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“underlie”, answered

How do you pronounce “underlie”?

“underlie” is pronounced /ˌʌndɚˈlaɪ/ (un-duh-LY) in American English and /ʌndəlaɪ/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “lie”. Build it as un-der-LIE, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “underlie” have?

3: un · der · lie. The beat lands on the third, “lie”.

Is “underlie” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌʌndɚˈlaɪ/ (un-duh-LY); British English says /ʌndəlaɪ/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “underlie” mean?

As a verb: be or form the base for For example: “Old mine workings underlie most of this hillside.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “underlie”?

Stress the third syllable: un-der-LIE. “lie” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

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