base meaning and definition

BASE noun

Definition of base (noun)

1. installation from which a military force initiates operations
   • "the attack wiped out our forward bases"
   • synonyms: base of operations
2. lowest support of a structure
   • "it was built on a base of solid rock"; "he stood at the foot of the tower"
   • synonyms: foot, foundation, fundament, groundwork, substructure, understructure
3. a place that the runner must touch before scoring
   • "he scrambled to get back to the bag"
   • synonyms: bag
4. the bottom or lowest part
   • "the base of the mountain"
5. (anatomy) the part of an organ nearest its point of attachment
   • "the base of the skull"
6. a lower limit
   • "the government established a wage floor"
   • synonyms: floor
7. the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained
   • "the whole argument rested on a basis of conjecture"
   • synonyms: basis, cornerstone, foundation, fundament, groundwork
8. a support or foundation
   • "the base of the lamp"
   • synonyms: pedestal, stand
9. a phosphoric ester of a nucleoside; the basic structural unit of nucleic acids (DNA or RNA)
   • synonyms: nucleotide
10. any of various water-soluble compounds capable of turning litmus blue and reacting with an acid to form a salt and water
    • "bases include oxides and hydroxides of metals and ammonia"
    • synonyms: alkali
11. the bottom side of a geometric figure from which the altitude can be constructed
    • "the base of the triangle"
12. the most important or necessary part of something
    • "the basis of this drink is orange juice"
    • synonyms: basis
13. (numeration system) the positive integer that is equivalent to one in the next higher counting place
    • "10 is the radix of the decimal system"
    • synonyms: radix
14. the place where you are stationed and from which missions start and end
    • synonyms: home
15. a terrorist network intensely opposed to the United States that dispenses money and logistical support and training to a wide variety of radical Islamic terrorist groups; has cells in more than 50 countries
    • synonyms: al-Qaeda, al-Qaida, al-Qa'ida, Qaeda
16. (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed
    • "thematic vowels are part of the stem"
    • synonyms: radical, root, root word, stem, theme
17. the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area
    • "the industrial base of Japan"
    • synonyms: infrastructure
18. the principal ingredient of a mixture
    • "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"; "everything she cooked seemed to have rice as the base"
19. a flat bottom on which something is intended to sit
    • "a tub should sit on its own base"
20. (electronics) the part of a transistor that separates the emitter from the collector

BASE verb

Definition of base (verb)

1. use as a basis for; found on
   • "base a claim on some observation"
   • synonyms: establish, found, ground
2. situate as a center of operations
   • "we will base this project in the new lab"
3. use (purified cocaine) by burning it and inhaling the fumes
   • synonyms: free-base

BASE adjective

Definition of base (adjective)

1. serving as or forming a base
   • "the painter applied a base coat followed by two finishing coats"
   • synonyms: basal
2. of low birth or station (`base' is archaic in this sense)
   • "baseborn wretches with dirty faces"; "of humble (or lowly) birth"
   • synonyms: baseborn, humble, lowly
3. (used of metals) consisting of or alloyed with inferior metal
   • "base coins of aluminum"; "a base metal"
4. not adhering to ethical or moral principles
   • "base and unpatriotic motives"; "a base, degrading way of life"; "cheating is dishonorable"; "they considered colonialism immoral"; "unethical practices in handling public funds"
   • synonyms: immoral
5. having or showing an ignoble lack of honor or morality
   • "that liberal obedience without which your army would be a base rabble"- Edmund Burke; "taking a mean advantage"; "chok'd with ambition of the meaner sort"- Shakespeare; "something essentially vulgar and meanspirited in politics"
   • synonyms: mean, meanspirited
6. illegitimate
   • synonyms: baseborn
7. debased; not genuine
   • "an attempt to eliminate the base coinage"