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base - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'base' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Base [ a.]
- Of little, or less than the usual, height; of low growth; as, base shrubs.
- Low in place or position.
- Of humble birth; or low degree; lowly; mean.
- Illegitimate by birth; bastard.
- Of little comparative value, as metal inferior to gold and silver, the precious metals.
- Alloyed with inferior metal; debased; as, base coin; base bullion.
- Morally low. Hence: Low-minded; unworthy; without dignity of sentiment; ignoble; mean; illiberal; menial; as, a base fellow; base motives; base occupations.
- Not classical or correct.
- Deep or grave in sound; as, the base tone of a violin.
- Not held by honorable service; as, a base estate, one held by services not honorable; held by villenage. Such a tenure is called base, or low, and the tenant, a base tenant.
- To abase; to let, or cast, down; to lower.
- To reduce the value of; to debase.
2 . Base [ n.]
- The bottom of anything, considered as its support, or that on which something rests for support; the foundation; as, the base of a statue.
- Fig.: The fundamental or essential part of a thing; the essential principle; a groundwork.
- The lower part of a wall, pier, or column, when treated as a separate feature, usually in projection, or especially ornamented.
- The lower part of a complete architectural design, as of a monument; also, the lower part of any elaborate piece of furniture or decoration.
- That extremity of a leaf, fruit, etc., at which it is attached to its support.
- The positive, or non-acid component of a salt; a substance which, combined with an acid, neutralizes the latter and forms a salt; -- applied also to the hydroxides of the positive elements or radicals, and to certain organic bodies resembling them in their property of forming salts with acids.
- The chief ingredient in a compound.
- A substance used as a mordant.
- The exterior side of the polygon, or that imaginary line which connects the salient angles of two adjacent bastions.
- The line or surface constituting that part of a figure on which it is supposed to stand.
- The number from which a mathematical table is constructed; as, the base of a system of logarithms.
- A low, or deep, sound. (Mus.) (a) The lowest part; the deepest male voice. (b) One who sings, or the instrument which plays, base.
- A place or tract of country, protected by fortifications, or by natural advantages, from which the operations of an army proceed, forward movements are made, supplies are furnished, etc.
- The smallest kind of cannon.
- That part of an organ by which it is attached to another more central organ.
- The basal plane of a crystal.
- The ground mass of a rock, especially if not distinctly crystalline.
- The lower part of the field. See Escutcheon.
- The housing of a horse.
- A kind of skirt ( often of velvet or brocade, but sometimes of mailed armor) which hung from the middle to about the knees, or lower.
- The lower part of a robe or petticoat.
- An apron.
- The point or line from which a start is made; a starting place or a goal in various games.
- 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.
- A rustic play; -- called also prisoner's base, prison base, or bars.
- Any one of the four bounds which mark the circuit of the infield.
- To put on a base or basis; to lay the foundation of; to found, as an argument or conclusion; -- used with on or upon.

Meaning of 'base' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . base [ n]
Meaning (1):
- (numeration system) the positive integer that is equivalent to one in the next higher counting place
Example in sentence:
  • 10 is the radix of the decimal system
Meaning (2):
- a flat bottom on which something is intended to sit
Example in sentence:
  • a tub should sit on its own base
Meaning (3):
- any of various water-soluble compounds capable of turning litmus blue and reacting with an acid to form a salt and water
Example in sentence:
  • bases include oxides and hydroxides of metals and ammonia
Meaning (4):
- the principal ingredient of a mixture
Example in sentence:
  • everything she cooked seemed to have rice as the base;
  • glycerinated gelatin is used as a base for many ointments;
  • he told the painter that he wanted a yellow base with just a hint of green
Meaning (5):
- a place that the runner must touch before scoring
Example in sentence:
  • he scrambled to get back to the bag
Meaning (6):
- lowest support of a structure
Example in sentence:
  • he stood at the foot of the tower;
  • it was built on a base of solid rock
Meaning (7):
- installation from which a military force initiates operations
Example in sentence:
  • the attack wiped out our forward bases
Meaning (8):
- a support or foundation
Example in sentence:
  • the base of the lamp
Meaning (9):
- the bottom or lowest part
Example in sentence:
  • the base of the mountain
Meaning (10):
- (anatomy) the part of an organ nearest its point of attachment
Example in sentence:
  • the base of the skull
Meaning (11):
- the bottom side of a geometric figure from which the altitude can be constructed
Example in sentence:
  • the base of the triangle
Meaning (12):
- the most important or necessary part of something
Example in sentence:
  • the basis of this drink is orange juice
Meaning (13):
- a lower limit
Example in sentence:
  • the government established a wage floor
Meaning (14):
- the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area
Example in sentence:
  • the industrial base of Japan
Meaning (15):
- the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained
Example in sentence:
  • the whole argument rested on a basis of conjecture
Meaning (16):
- (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed
Example in sentence:
  • thematic vowels are part of the stem
17 . base [ v]
Meaning (17):
- use as a basis for; found on
Example in sentence:
  • base a claim on some observation
Meaning (18):
- situate as a center of operations
Example in sentence:
  • we will base this project in the new lab
19 . base [ s]
Meaning (19):
- (used of metals) consisting of or alloyed with inferior metal
Example in sentence:
  • a base metal;
  • base coins of aluminum
Meaning (20):
- not adhering to ethical or moral principles
Example in sentence:
  • a base, degrading way of life;
  • base and unpatriotic motives;
  • cheating is dishonorable;
  • they considered colonialism immoral;
  • unethical practices in handling public funds
Meaning (21):
- debased; not genuine
Example in sentence:
  • an attempt to eliminate the base coinage
Meaning (22):
- of low birth or station (`base' is archaic in this sense)
Example in sentence:
  • baseborn wretches with dirty faces;
  • of humble (or lowly) birth
Meaning (23):
- having or showing an ignoble lack of honor or morality
Example in sentence:
  • chok'd with ambition of the meaner sort;
  • something essentially vulgar and meanspirited in politics;
  • taking a mean advantage;
  • that liberal obedience without which your army would be a base rabble
Meaning (24):
- serving as or forming a base
Example in sentence:
  • the painter applied a base coat followed by two finishing coats

Nearby Words:

bas-relief basal basal-nerved basalt basaltic basaltiform basaltoid basan basanite basbleu

See 'base' also in:

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