The phrase "a legitimate foundation" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when discussing the basis or groundwork of an argument, theory, or system that is valid and credible.
Example: "The research presented in this paper provides a legitimate foundation for understanding the impact of climate change on biodiversity."
Alternatives: "a valid basis" or "a credible groundwork".
Compiling my work into a print and digital portfolio gave me a legitimate foundation to build on.
Though their introduction to opioids had a legitimate foundation, certain vulnerable patients may now be set on a path that could end in dependence or addiction.
Speights serves a worthwhile purpose so long as he isn't asked to do too much, and he puts up numbers in a way that helps his team win without ever providing a legitimate foundation to build upon.
Lawyers for the Unifaun alleged that the board's classification was based on a total misreading of the work and should not form a legitimate foundation for judging the moral standards of a play.
For Hamilton, a legitimate government must protect rights; for Jefferson, "the will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government". Jefferson knew that government in a democracy tended to "take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not," yet he remained a Democrat his whole life.
Reporters discovered that the money trail wound through some eighteen dummy foundations and twenty-one legitimate foundations.
"The solution has to start by recognising the legitimate foundations of the collective irritation.
There is a legitimate policy-based foundation to Steele's criticism, including the concern (implicitly acknowledged during the president's statement on Thursday) that any tax levied on banks will simply be passed down to shareholders or consumers, as opposed to compelling executives to take smaller bonus packages.
Jamal Murray, also picked 7th in 2016, has joined Jokic and Harris as the third prong of Denver's young core which just might have a legitimate shot at forming the foundation of a contender if they reach their ceilings.
If you wanted to dispute him you would have to challenge his clearly parsed information -- a method that offered a foundation for a legitimate and intelligent debate.
And the second step, going beyond goal tracking, is to make the community foundation deep enough that it becomes a legitimate source of answers, accountability and positive support.
