shake/rock something to its foundations

foundation | American Dictionary

foundation
noun
us/fɑʊnˈdeɪ·ʃən/

foundationnoun (BASE)

[ C ]
the base that is built below the surface of the ground to support a building:
a concrete foundation
fig. The two leaders have laid the foundations of a new era of cooperation between their countries.

foundationnoun (ACT OF ESTABLISHING)

[ U ]
the act of establishing an organization, state, etc.:
The foundation of the children’s home was made possible by a generous contributor.

foundationnoun (SUPPORT)

[ U ]
a fact, idea, etc. that provides support for something:
These charges are completely without foundation (= false).

foundationnoun (ORGANIZATION)

[ C ]
an organization that has been established to provide financial support for activities and groups that are useful or helpful:
the Ford Foundation

foundation | Business English

foundation
noun
uk /faʊnˈdeɪʃən/us
[ C ]
an organization that has been started in order to provide money for a particular group of people or for a particular type of research:
He gave £1m to set up a charitable foundation to help vulnerable young people.
[ U ]
the act of starting a new business, organization, etc.:
He helped lead the company out of its worst crisis since its foundation over a hundred years ago.
 foundations[ plural ]
PROPERTY
the structures below the surface of the ground which support a building:
The foundations will have to be reinforced to prevent the house from sinking further into the ground.
the basic ideas or structures from which something important develops:
the foundations of sthOne of the foundations of democracy is a fair trial.
lay/establish/build the foundations for sthThe company says it is 'laying the foundations for future success'.
firm/solid/strong foundationsFrom firm foundations we will continue to grow the business.

Examples of foundation

foundation
Rather than totalizing the failure of foundations, the more productive strategy is to seek the strategic error of past foundationisms.
The text commences with her childhood, establishing the early foundations of the intellectual and moral supremacy which marks her adulthood.
Before we consider each of these offences in outline, let us examine the practical and theoretical foundations for them.
However, this made him re-examine the foundations of his faith and as a result he became more convinced of their truth than ever.
The social reality constructed by the malestream approach rests on shaky foundations.
The secular foundations of medieval kingship were slender before the twelfth century.
When indeterminacies are viewed as gaps, they are interpreted as contributing to the very foundations of the text's meaning.
Aesthetic foundations provide the pretext for forcing women to act and then condemning them for doing so.
I take this to mean that it is actually difficult to unravel the assumptions of archaeological analysis without questioning the foundations of modernist thought.
The gradual increase in household autonomy challenged the social, ceremonial and economic foundations of the neighbourhood communities.
The first question leads us back to the foundations of human culture.
On some sites even the foundations were prefabricated.
In other words, cisterns, foundations, and the waterproofing system proceeded in parallel.
The fire destroyed the buildings, but at the same time transformed them into baked clay and thereby preserved them as foundations for new buildings.
Much of the material on nunneries is delicate work on uncertain and poorly-documented foundations.
See all examples of foundation
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations withfoundation

foundation

These are words often used in combination with foundation.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

basic foundation
It is at the basicfoundation level.
cement foundation
Today the cementfoundation is showing signs of decay.
charitable foundation
She is now working hard to establish this group as a charitablefoundation.
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
See all collocations with foundation