foundations

Noun

foundation (countable and uncountable, plural foundations)

1. The act of founding, fixing, establishing, or beginning to erect.
   • The foundation of his institute has been wrought with difficulty.

   Synonyms:

   establishment

   Antonyms:

   abolition, dissolution, ruination

2. That upon which anything is founded; that on which anything stands, and by which it is supported; the lowest and supporting layer of a superstructure; underbuilding.
   • Aye Madam to be sure that is the Provoking circumstance—without Foundation—yes yes—there's the mortification indeed—for when a slanderous story is believed against one—there certainly is no comfort like the consciousness of having deserved it——1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, IV.iii

   Synonyms:

   basis, groundwork, underbuilding, underframework, warp and weft, underpinning

3. (figuratively) The result of the work to begin something; that which stabilizes and allows an enterprise or system to develop.
   • The implication is that the Gandhian model of growth is possible, now that Nehru's investment strategy had already laid a strong foundation for economic growth.2006, K P Yadav, Economic Planning And Restructuring, Sarup & Sons, →ISBN, page 44

   Synonyms:

   groundwork, platform, stage

4. In solitaire or patience games, one of the piles of cards that the player attempts to build, usually holding all cards of a suit in ascending order.
5. The lowest and supporting part or member of a wall, including the base course and footing courses; in a frame house, the whole substructure of masonry.
   • The foundations of this construction have been laid out.

   Synonyms:

   base, groundwall

6. A donation or legacy appropriated to support a charitable institution, and constituting a permanent fund; endowment.

See all 9 meanings of foundation