base

English Dictionary -> Letter B -> base

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base Definition

(n) 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"
(n) installation from which a military force initiates operations; "the attack wiped out our forward bases"
(n) lowest support of a structure; "it was built on a base of solid rock"; "he stood at the foot of the tower"
(n) place that runner must touch before scoring; "he scrambled to get back to the bag"
(n) (numeration system) the positive integer that is equivalent to one in the next higher counting place; "10 is the radix of the decimal system"
(n) the bottom or lowest part; "the base of the mountain"
(n) (anatomy) the part of an organ nearest its point of attachment; "the base of the skull"
(n) a lower limit; "the government established a wage floor"
(n) the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained; "the whole argument rested on a basis of conjecture"
(n) a support or foundation; "the base of the lamp"
(n) the bottom side of a geometric figure from which the altitude can be constructed; "the base of the triangle"
(n) the most important or necessary part of something; "the basis of this drink is orange juice"
(n) the place where you are stationed and from which missions start and end
(n) an intensely anti-western terrorist network that dispenses money and logistical support and training to a wide variety of radical Islamic terrorist group; has cells in more than 50 countries
(n) (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed; "thematic vowels are part of the stem"
(n) the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area; "the industrial base of Japan"
(n) 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"
(n) a flat bottom on which something is intended to sit; "a tub should sit on its own base"
(n) (electronics) the part of a transistor that separates the emitter from the collector
(s) serving as or forming a base; "the painter applied a base coat followed by two finishing coats"
(s) (used of metals) consisting of or alloyed with inferior metal; "base coins of aluminum"; "a base metal"
(s) of low birth or station (`base'' is archaic in this sense); "baseborn wretches with dirty faces"; "of humble (or lowly) birth"
(s) 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"
(s) 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 vulga
(s) illegitimate
(s) debased; not genuine; "an attempt to eliminate the base coinage"
(v) use as a basis for; found on; "base a claim on some observation"
(v) use (purified cocaine) by burning it and inhaling the fumes
(v) assign to a station

base Synonyms