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undermine - 4 dictionary results

un⋅der⋅mine

  [uhn-der-mahyn or, especially for 1, 2, 4, uhn-der-mahyn]
Use undermine in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -mined, -min⋅ing.
1. to injure or destroy by insidious activity or imperceptible stages, sometimes tending toward a sudden dramatic effect.
2. to attack by indirect, secret, or underhand means; attempt to subvert by stealth.
3. to make an excavation under; dig or tunnel beneath, as a military stronghold.
4. to weaken or cause to collapse by removing underlying support, as by digging away or eroding the foundation.
Origin:
1300–50; ME underminen. See under-, mine 2

Related forms:
un⋅der⋅min⋅er, noun
un⋅der⋅min⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To undermine
un·der·mine   (ŭn'dər-mīn')   
tr.v.   un·der·mined, un·der·min·ing, un·der·mines
  1. To weaken by wearing away a base or foundation: Water has undermined the stone foundations.
  2. To weaken, injure, or impair, often by degrees or imperceptibly; sap: Late hours can undermine one's health.
  3. To dig a mine or tunnel beneath.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Undermine

Un`der*mine"\, v. t. 1. To excavate the earth beneath, or the part of, especially for the purpose of causing to fall or be overthrown; to form a mine under; to sap; as, to undermine a wall.

A vast rock undermined from one end to the other, and a highway running through it. --Addison.

2. Fig.: To remove the foundation or support of by clandestine means; to ruin in an underhand way; as, to undermine reputation; to undermine the constitution of the state.

He should be warned who are like to undermine him. --Locke.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : undermine
Spanish: minar,
German: untergraben,
Japanese: 土台をくずす
More Translations »

undermine 
c.1300, undermyne, from under + mine (v.). The fig. sense is attested from c.1430. Cf. Du. ondermijnen, Dan. underminere, Ger. unterminiren.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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