bedrocks
Fundamental underlying layers
Bedrocks is the plural of bedrock—the solid rock underlying loose surface material like soil or gravel.
Figuratively, bedrock means the fundamental basis of something: the bedrocks of democracy, the bedrocks of a healthy relationship.
The plural typically appears in figurative contexts, since literal bedrock is usually treated as a mass noun.
Structural bases below ground
- cornerstonesEssential founding elements
- pillarsLoad-bearing vertical structures
- fundamentalsCore elements of something
- underpinningsFundamental supports beneath
bases · anchors · groundwork · keystones · building blocks · essentials · supports · mainstays
Structural bases below ground
- strataParallel geological layers
- graniteIgneous rock, quartz-rich
- limestoneCarbonate sedimentary rock
- outcropsProtruding rock formations
formations · substrata · crust · stone foundations · lithosphere · tectonic plates · mineral deposits
foundations
Structural bases below ground
- cornerstonesEssential founding elements
- pillarsLoad-bearing vertical structures
- fundamentalsCore elements of something
underpinnings · bases · anchors · groundwork · keystones · building blocks · essentials · supports · mainstays · touchstones
foundations
Structural bases below ground
outcrops · formations · substrata · crust · stone foundations · lithosphere · tectonic plates · mineral deposits
- reliablesmainstays, staples, standbys, stalwarts, dependables
bedrocksloose sediment
shifting sands · topsoil · sediment · alluvium · gravel
bedrocksquicksand
Yielding, engulfing sediment
shifting sands · shaky ground · superficialities · trivialities · peripherals
bedrockssuperficialities
Shallow, unimportant matters
peripherals · trivialities · incidentals · nonessentials · frills