base
(noun, adjective, verb, acronym)
adjective
1. serving as or forming a base
- the painter applied a base coat followed by two finishing coats
2. (used of metals) consisting of or alloyed with inferior metal
- base coins of aluminum
- a base metal
Similar word(s): inferior
3. not adhering to ethical or moral principles
- base and unpatriotic motives
- a base, degrading way of life
Similar word(s): wrong, immoral
4. having or showing an ignoble lack of honor or morality
- that liberal obedience without which your army would be a base rabble
Similar word(s): ignoble, mean, meanspirited
5. illegitimate
Similar word(s): illegitimate, baseborn
6. debased; not genuine
- an attempt to eliminate the base coinage
Similar word(s): counterfeit, imitative
Sentences with base as an adjective:
- base coin; base bullion
- the base tone of a violin
- 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
1. installation from which a military force initiates operations
- the attack wiped out our forward bases
Definition categories: man–made
2. lowest support of a structure
- it was built on a base of solid rock
Similar word(s): foot, foundation, fundament, groundwork, substructure, understructure
Definition categories: man–made, support
3. a place that the runner must touch before scoring
Similar word(s): bag
Definition categories: man–made
4. the bottom or lowest part
- the base of the mountain
Definition categories: object, part, piece
5. (anatomy) the part of an organ nearest its point of attachment
- the base of the skull
Definition categories: location, bottom
6. a lower limit
Similar word(s): floor
Definition categories: communication, control
7. the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained
Similar word(s): basis, cornerstone, foundation, fundament, groundwork
Definition categories: thought, assumption, supposal, supposition
8. a support or foundation
- the base of the lamp
Similar word(s): pedestal, stand
Definition categories: man–made, support
9. a phosphoric ester of a nucleoside; the basic structural unit of nucleic acids (DNA or RNA)
Similar word(s): nucleotide
Definition categories: substance, ester
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
Similar word(s): alkali
Definition categories: substance, compound
11. the bottom side of a geometric figure from which the altitude can be constructed
- the base of the triangle
Definition categories: shape, flank
12. the most important or necessary part of something
Similar word(s): basis
Definition categories: link, component, constituent, part, portion
13. (numeration system) the positive integer that is equivalent to one in the next higher counting place
Similar word(s): radix
Definition categories: quantity, number
14. the place where you are stationed and from which missions start and end
Similar word(s): home
Definition categories: location
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
Definition categories: group
16. (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed
Similar word(s): radical, root, stem, theme
Definition categories: communication, descriptor, form, signifier
17. the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area
- the industrial base of Japan
Similar word(s): infrastructure
Definition categories: man–made, fund, stock, store
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
Definition categories: man–made, ingredient
19. a flat bottom on which something is intended to sit
- a tub should sit on its own base
Definition categories: man–made, bottom, underside, undersurface
20. (electronics) the part of a transistor that separates the emitter from the collector
Definition categories: man–made, electrode
Sentences with base as a noun:
- The logarithm to base 2 of 8 is 3.
verb
1. use as a basis for; found on
- base a claim on some observation
Similar word(s): establish, found, ground
Definition categories: cognition
2. situate as a center of operations
- we will base this project in the new lab
Definition categories: stative, locate, situate
3. use (purified cocaine) by burning it and inhaling the fumes
Definition categories: consumption, drug