Word.ws English Dictionary

base

UK/beɪs/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Australia/bæɪs/

base noun: something from which other things extend; a foundation. Also the dated form of bass.

Noun (1)

base (countable and uncountable, plural bases)

  1. Something from which other things extend; a foundation.
    1. A supporting, lower or bottom component of a structure or object.
      • Nanny Broome was looking up at the outer wall. Just under the ceiling there were three lunette windows, heavily barred and blacked out in the normal way by centuries of grime. Their bases were on a level with the pavement outside, a narrow way which was several feet lower than the road behind the...1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 14, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 178
  2. The starting point of a logical deduction or thought; basis.
  3. A site, structure, or both, usually durable and often permanent, for housing military personnel and materiel.
  4. The place where decisions for an organization are made; headquarters.
    Synonyms:
    seat
  5. (painting, pharmacy) A basic but essential component or ingredient.
  6. A substance used as a mordant in dyeing.
  7. Foundation: a cosmetic cream to make the face appear uniform.
  8. Any of a class of generally water-soluble compounds that turn red litmus blue and react with acids to form salts.
  9. A safe zone in the children's games of tag and hide-and-go-seek.
  10. One of the four places that a runner can stand without being subject to being tagged out when the ball is in play.
  11. The lowermost part of a column, between the shaft and the pedestal or pavement.
  12. A nucleotide's nucleobase in the context of a DNA or RNA biopolymer.
Show 22 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. The end of a leaf, petal or similar organ where it is attached to its support.
  2. The name of the controlling terminal of a bipolar transistor (BJT).
  3. The lowest side of a triangle or other polygon, or the lowest face of a cone, pyramid or other polyhedron laid flat.
  4. The lowest third of a shield (or field), or an ordinary occupying this space, the champagne. (Compare terrace.)
    • The shield was silver, charged with a red cross voided (that is, with the centre cut out and only the edges left), between in chief (that is, above the horizontal limb of the cross) two black dragon's wings, and in base two red daggers, and in the centre of the cross a black winged helmet; on a red...1956 July, Col. H. C. B. Rogers, “Railway Heraldry”, in Railway Magazine, page 479
  5. A number raised to the power of an exponent.
    • The logarithm to base 2 of 8 is 3.
  6. Synonym of radix.
    Synonyms:
    radix
  7. The set of sets from which a topology is generated.
  8. A topological space, looked at in relation to one of its covering spaces, fibrations, or bundles.
  9. A sequence of elements not jointly stabilized by any nontrivial group element.
  10. In hand-to-hand balance, the person who supports the flyer; the person that remains in contact with the ground.
  11. A morpheme (or morphemes) that serves as a basic foundation on which affixes can be attached.
  12. (historical) The smallest kind of cannon.
  13. (archaic) The housing of a horse.
  14. (historical, in plural, sometimes) A kind of skirt (often of velvet or brocade) which hung from the middle to about the knees, or lower.
    • […] with flowers of gold, the body lined with velvet, and the bases, or skirts, with satin; also a frock of black satin, lined with sarcenet, having three welts of the same.1842, Joseph Strutt, A Complete View of the Dress and Habits of the People of England, page 246
  15. (historical, in plural, sometimes) A kind of armour skirt, of mail or plate, imitating the preceding civilian skirt.
    • The base (skirt), as opposed to the practical skirt of the tonlet armour, is an affectation in imitation of the civilian fabric garment of the period and may well have been inspired by a similar feature on Maximilian's gift armour.1977, Armours of Henry VIII
    • Both knee-length bases are made from black velvet [...] There was a second type of metal skirt that could be worn with armour: the tonlet. [...] Unlike the base, however, the tonlet did not have a textile counterpart. [...]2007, AHRC Research Centre for Textile Conservation and Textile Studies. Conference, Textiles and Text: Re-establishing the Links Between Archival and Object-based Research : Postprints, pages 47–49
  16. (obsolete) The lower part of a robe or petticoat.
  17. (obsolete) An apron.
    • bakers in their linen bases1613, John Marston, The Insatiate Countess
  18. A line in a survey which, being accurately determined in length and position, serves as the origin from which to compute the distances and positions of any points or objects connected with it by a system of triangles.
    • Use the globe he inhabits as a base wherewith to measure the magnitude and distance of the sun and planets.1834, Mary Somerville, On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences
  19. A group of voters who almost always support a single party's candidates for elected office.
  20. (Marxism) The forces and relations of production that produce the necessities and amenities of life.
    • What, then, in the last resort is the determining influence of the base on the superstructure, and what is the 'relative independence' possessed by the various forms of superstructure according to Engels and most theoretical Marxists?1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume I: The Founders, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: powstanie (in...
    Synonyms:
    substructure
    Antonyms:
    superstructure
  21. A material that holds paint or other materials together; a binder.
  22. (slang, uncountable) freebase cocaine
    • TYLER LENNON (played by Louis Healy): Ten grand a week we were clearing: base, white, meth, weed, anything. I can get you anything to get you high.2019 January 20, Ann Cleeves, Paul Matthew Thompson, 1:26:51 from the start, in Lawrence Gough, director, Vera(Cuckoo) (9), episode 2 (TV series), spoken by Tyler Lennon (Louis Healy)
    • Shared you with my friends, the Pops they never had / You lived for our fishing trips, damn I had a dad / [...] / See, mine made sure he had every base covered / So imagine his pain finding base in the cupboard2025 July 11, “The Birds Don't Sing”, in Gene Thornton, Pharrel Williams, Stevie Wonder, Terrence Thornton (lyrics), Let God Sort Em Out, performed by Clipse, John Legend, and Voices of Fire, Roc...

Verb

base (third-person singular simple present bases, present participle basing, simple past and past participle based)

  1. (transitive) To give as its foundation or starting point; to lay the foundation of.
    • Firstly, I continue to base most species treatments on personally collected material, rather than on herbarium plants.1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii
    Synonyms:
    ground
  2. (transitive) To be located (at a particular place).
    • Troops have been based in Munich since the end of World War II.
    • Top management decided to base our new Spanish subsidiary in Arévalo (Ávila).
  3. To act as a base; to be the person supporting the flyer.
    • Apart from time taken out during radio- and chemotherapy, Maurs continued to participate in POW. She would base a flyer in a double balance and make the audience laugh with her clowning antics for two more shows.2005, John T. Warren, Laura B. Lengel, Casting Gender: Women and Performance in Intercultural Context, →ISBN, page 73
  4. (slang) To freebase.
    • You know he started to base at a hell of a pace / And now it's a disgrace, he's got the pipe in his face1984, “8 Million Stories”, in Ego Trip, performed by Kurtis Blow ft. Run-DMC

Adjective

base (comparative baser or more base, superlative basest or most base)

  1. (obsolete) Low in height; short.
    • The cedar stoops not to the base shrub's foot.1594, William Shakespeare, The Rape of Lucrece, line 664
    Synonyms:
    little, petite, short
  2. Low in place or position.
    • I see thy glory like a shooting star / Fall to the base earth from the firmament.c. 1595, William Shakespeare, Richard II, act 2, scene 4, lines 19–20
    Synonyms:
    low-lying, lowland
  3. (obsolete) Of low value or degree.
    • If thou livest in paine and sorrow, thy base courage is the cause of it, To die there wanteth but will.1603, Michel de Montaigne, translated by John Florio, The Essayes […], London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC
  4. (archaic) Of low social standing or rank; vulgar, common.
    • UUhat meanes the mightie Turkiſh Emperor
      To talke with one ſo baſe as Tamburlaine?c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC...
    • Wherefore should I / Stand in the plague of custome, and permit / The curiosity of Nations, to deprive me? For that I am some twelve, or fourteen Moonshines / Lag of a Brother? Why Bastard? Wherefore base? / When my Dimensions are as well compact, My minde as generous, and my shape as true / As...c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
  5. Morally reprehensible, immoral; cowardly.
    • a cruel act of a base and a cowardish mind1551, Ralph Robynson, transl., More's Utopia
    • base ingratitude1634 October 9 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), [John Milton], edited by H[enry] Lawes, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: […] [Comus], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey...
  6. (archaic) Inferior; unworthy, of poor quality.
    • 'Like this horrible film.'
      'Horrible?' Lenina was genuinely astonished. 'But I thought it was lovely.'
      'It was base,' he said indignantly, 'it was ignoble.'1932, Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, London: Chatto & Windus
    Synonyms:
    low-quality
  7. Not considered precious or noble.
  8. Alloyed with inferior metal; debased.
    • base coin
    • base bullion
  9. (obsolete) Of illegitimate birth; bastard.
    • Why bastard? Wherefore base?c. 1605–1606, William Shakespeare, King Lear, act 1, scene 2, line 6
  10. Not classical or correct.
    • base Latin1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI)
  11. Relating to feudal land tenure held by a tenant from a lord in exchange for services that are seen as unworthy for noblemen to perform, such as villeinage.
    • A base estate is one held by services not honourable, or held by villenage. Such a tenure is called base, or low, and the tenant is a base tenant.

Noun (2)

base (uncountable)

  1. (US, historical) The game of prisoners' bars.
    • to run the country base1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
    • So ran they all, as they had bene at bace, / They being chased that did others chase.1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto VIII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC

Noun (3) capitalized: BASE

BASE

  1. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of building, antenna-tower, span, earth.

Proper noun (1) capitalized: BASE

BASE

  1. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of British Association for Screen Entertainment.

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Base

Base

  1. A surname transferred from the nickname.

Also used as

base is also the dated form of bass.

base is also the ellipsis of base leg.

base is also the obsolete form of bass.

base is also the alternative form of BASE.

base meaning in Hindi, Marathi, Urdu and Telugu

base in Hindi

1. something from which other things extend
आधार ādhār
2. starting point of thought
मूल mūl
3. permanent structure for housing military
अड्डा aḍḍā
4. headquarters
मुख्यालय mukhyālay

base in Marathi

14. geometry: lowest side or face
पाया pāyā

base in Urdu

1. something from which other things extend
بُنِیاد buniyād, بُنْیاد bunyād
8. chemical compound that will neutralize an acid
اساس asās
3. permanent structure for housing military
اڈا aḍḍā

base in Telugu

1. something from which other things extend
పీఠం pīṭhaṁ
8. chemical compound that will neutralize an acid
క్షారం kṣāraṁ
3. permanent structure for housing military
స్థావరం sthāvaraṁ
4. headquarters
స్థావరం sthāvaraṁ
More languagesFewer languages
base in Malayalam
അടിസ്ഥാനം aṭisthānaṁ, ക്ഷാരം kṣāraṁ, താവളം tāvaḷaṁ
base in Kannada
ಬೇಸ್
base in Nepali
आधार
base in Tagalog
tangkap, takad, hukbuhing takad, ibase
base in Arabic
أَسَاس ʔasās, قَاعِدَة qāʕida, مَرْكَز markaz, يُبْنَى عَلَى yubnā ʕalā
base in Malay
asas, bes, pangkalan
base in Indonesian
dasar, basa, alkali, dasar pemikiran
base in Persian
بنیانگذاری bonyângozâri, پایهگذاری pâye-gozâri, پیریزی pey-rizi, هرزَه harza
base in Thai
ฐาน tǎan, โคน koon, พื้นฐาน pʉ́ʉn-tǎan, ฐานทัพ tǎan-táp
base in Vietnamese
bazơ, căn cứ
base in Myanmar
ဘေ့စ် bhec., ဗေ့စ် bec.

Examples of base in a sentence

  • Their bases were on a level with the pavement outside, a narrow way which was several feet lower than the road behind the house.1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 14, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 178:
  • Wherefore base? / When my Dimensions are as well compact, My minde as generous, and my shape as true / As honest madams issue?c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First...
  • Yule's chagrin and horror at what she called her son's base ingratitude knew no bounds ; at first it was even thought that she would never get over it.[…]”1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Tragedy in Dartmoor Terrace”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher...

All 40 example sentences with base

Synonyms of base

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of base

Forms of base

Noun
pluralbases
alternative formbase
alternative formB.A.S.E.
Verb
third-person singular presentbases
present participlebasing
past participlebased
pastbased
Adjective
comparativebaser
comparativemore base
superlativebasest
superlativemost base

Past tense of base: based

Plural of base: bases

Origin of base

From Middle English base, bas, baas, from Old French base, from Latin basis, from Ancient Greek βάσις (básis). Doublet of basis and bass.

From Middle English base, bas, from Old French bas, from Late Latin bassus (“low”). Cognate with Spanish bajo, Italian basso and base.

Probably a specific use of Etymology 1, above; perhaps also a development of the plural of bar.

Words formed from base

Phrases with base

154 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with base

45 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about base

What does base mean?
Base means something from which other things extend; a foundation.
What is base in Hindi?
Base in Hindi is आधार (ādhār), मूल (mūl), अड्डा (aḍḍā). See Base meaning in Hindi.
How do you use base in a sentence?
Their bases were on a level with the pavement outside, a narrow way which was several feet lower than the road behind the house.
What part of speech is base?
Base can be a noun, a verb, an adjective or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce base?
Base is pronounced /beɪs/ (UK).
What is the plural of base?
The plural of base is bases.

Words near base in the dictionary

  1. bascules
  2. Basden
  3. Basdens
  4. Basdeo
  5. Basdeos
  6. base
  7. base 2
  8. base address
  9. base addresses
  10. base angle
  11. base angles

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: base (page history and authors); BASE (page history and authors); Base (page history and authors); base (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); base (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-base.ogg.

Cite this entry: “base.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/base. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.