1. the underlying structures or foundations that support a building or other construction
Usage: architecture; engineering
2. the basic underlying framework or essential parts of a system or organization
Usage: figurative

Examples

• The engineers inspected the bridge’s substructures for signs of damage.
• Concrete substructures provide stability for the skyscraper.
• The building’s substructures were reinforced with steel beams.
• Economic substructures influence how societies develop.
• The company’s organizational substructures needed restructuring.
• Underground substructures house the building’s utilities.
• The social substructures of the community were well-established.