underpin

verb

1 construction workers were underpinning the 300-year-old listed building in the High Street:

support, shore up, prop up, hold up, buttress, carry, bear, brace;

strengthen, reinforce, fortify;

archaic underprop.

2 this partnership will underpin the long-term financial health of global cricket:

promote, nurture, encourage, stimulate, develop, foster, cultivate, further, advance, boost, forward, contribute to, be conducive to, assist, help, aid, abet, strengthen, advantage, fuel.

▷antonyms hinder.

underpin Oxford Dictionary of English