substructure
noun
sub·struc·ture
ˈsəb-ˌstrək-chər 
: an underlying or supporting part of a structure
Examples of substructure in a Sentence
The bridge's substructure was damaged.
Recent Examples on the Web
In the past decade these questions have come to the fore as images of the interstellar medium taken with Herschel, as well as with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile and other telescopes, have highlighted how significant cloud substructure might be in star formation.
—
Nia Imara, Scientific American, 20 Feb. 2024
The Reich group also reported a few years ago that these Negrito populations themselves exhibit population substructure, with the Philippine group having deep ancient affinities to the likely first settlers of Sahul, and the Malaysians being closer to Andaman Islanders.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 20 July 2013
All three countries register a strong majority belief that the system in their country is broken, attitudes that serve as the substructure of the leaders’ legitimacy.
—Clifford Young, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2024
Inspectors look at the bridge deck, the approaches, the superstructure, if there is one, and the substructure, Morgan said.
—Ed Stannard, Hartford Courant, 16 Jan. 2024
In 2017, her $1.4 million pledge helped restore a substructure under the fourth-century Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, a site where, according to Christian traditions, the body of Christ was entombed.
—Robert D. McFadden, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2023
The last work done updated the bridge’s superstructure, which is the part that bears the weight of vehicles passing over, but left its substructure — essentially the support beneath — untouched, Novack said.
—Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 19 Sep. 2023
Also recall that most populations show no substructure with regards to the number of blocks shared with Italians, implying that the common ancestors other populations share with Italy predate divisions within these other populations.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 9 May 2013
In regards to human races out of the total genetic variation ~15% of it can be inferred simply by looking at population substructure (FST ~0.15), with the balance not being due to population structure.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 20 July 2013
Nia Imara, Scientific American, 20 Feb. 2024
The Reich group also reported a few years ago that these Negrito populations themselves exhibit population substructure, with the Philippine group having deep ancient affinities to the likely first settlers of Sahul, and the Malaysians being closer to Andaman Islanders.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 20 July 2013
All three countries register a strong majority belief that the system in their country is broken, attitudes that serve as the substructure of the leaders’ legitimacy.
—Clifford Young, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2024
Inspectors look at the bridge deck, the approaches, the superstructure, if there is one, and the substructure, Morgan said.
—Ed Stannard, Hartford Courant, 16 Jan. 2024
In 2017, her $1.4 million pledge helped restore a substructure under the fourth-century Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, a site where, according to Christian traditions, the body of Christ was entombed.
—Robert D. McFadden, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2023
The last work done updated the bridge’s superstructure, which is the part that bears the weight of vehicles passing over, but left its substructure — essentially the support beneath — untouched, Novack said.
—Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 19 Sep. 2023
Also recall that most populations show no substructure with regards to the number of blocks shared with Italians, implying that the common ancestors other populations share with Italy predate divisions within these other populations.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 9 May 2013
In regards to human races out of the total genetic variation ~15% of it can be inferred simply by looking at population substructure (FST ~0.15), with the balance not being due to population structure.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 20 July 2013
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'substructure.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1726, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near substructure
Cite this Entry
“Substructure.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/substructure. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
substructure
noun
sub·struc·ture
ˈsəb-ˌstrək-chər
: an underlying or supporting part of a structure
Medical Definition
More from Merriam-Webster on substructure
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for substructure
Britannica English: Translation of substructure for Arabic Speakers
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