underlying

verb adjective

Stress: third syllable

Syllables: un-der-ly-ing (4)

English Definition

Significant as a cause or basis of something but not immediately obvious.

Example Sentence

We need to find the underlying cause of this problem.

US IPA /ˌʌndərˈlaɪɪŋ/
UK IPA /ˌʌndəˈlaɪɪŋ/