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based

[beys]

Origin

noun

the bottom support of anything; that on which a thing stands or rests: a metal base for the table.

a fundamental principle or groundwork; foundation; basis: the base of needed reforms.

the bottom layer or coating, as of makeup or paint.

Architecture.

the distinctively treated portion of a column or pier below the shaft or shafts.

the distinctively treated lowermost portion of any construction, as a monument, exterior wall, etc.

Botany, Zoology.

the part of an organ nearest its point of attachment.

the point of attachment.

EXPAND

the principal element or ingredient of anything, considered as its fundamental part: face cream with a lanolin base; paint with a lead base.

that from which a commencement, as of action or reckoning, is made; a starting point or point of departure.

Baseball.

any of the four corners of the diamond, especially first, second, or third base. Compare home plate.

a square canvas sack containing sawdust or some other light material, for marking first, second, or third base.

a starting line or point for runners, racing cars, etc.

10.

(in hockey and other games) the goal.

11.

Military.

a fortified or more or less protected area or place from which the operations of an army or an air force proceed.

a supply installation for a large military force.

12.

Geometry. the line or surface forming the part of a figure that is most nearly horizontal or on which it is supposed to stand.

13.

Mathematics.

the number that serves as a starting point for a logarithmic or other numerical system.

a collection of subsets of a topological space having the property that every open set in the given topology can be written as the union of sets of the collection.

a collection of neighborhoods of a point such that every neighborhood of the point contains one from the collection.

a collection of sets of a given filter such that every set in the filter is contained in some set in the collection.

14.

Also called base line. Surveying. See under triangulation (def. 1).

15.

Painting.

vehicle (def. 10).

Also called carrier. inert matter, used in the preparation of lakes, onto which a coloring compound is precipitated.

16.

Photography. a thin, flexible layer of cellulose triacetate or similar material that holds the light-sensitive film emulsion and other coatings, especially on motion-picture film.

17.

Chemistry.

a compound that reacts with an acid to form a salt, as ammonia, calcium hydroxide, or certain nitrogen-containing organic compounds.

the hydroxide of a metal or of an electropositive element or group.

a group or molecule that takes up or accepts protons.

a molecule or ion containing an atom with a free pair of electrons that can be donated to an acid; an electron-pair donor.

any of the purine and pyrimidine compounds found in nucleic acids: the purines adenine and guanine and the pyrimidines cytosine, thymine, and uracil.

18.

Grammar. the part of a complex word, consisting of one or more morphemes, to which derivational or inflectional affixes may be added, as want in unwanted or biolog- in biological. Compare root¹ (def. 11), stem¹ (def. 16).

19.

Linguistics. the component of a generative grammar containing the lexicon and phrase-structure rules that generate the deep structure of sentences.

20.

Electronics.

an electrode or terminal on a transistor other than the emitter or collector electrodes or terminals.

the part of an incandescent lamp or electron tube that includes the terminals for making electrical connection to a circuit or power supply.

21.

Stock Exchange. the level at which a security ceases a decline in price.

22.

Heraldry. the lower part of an escutcheon.

23.

bases, Armor. a tonlet formed of two shaped steel plates assembled side by side.

24.

Jewelry. pavilion (def. 6).

25.

in base, Heraldry. in the lower part of an escutcheon.

COLLAPSE

adjective

26.

serving as or forming a base: The walls will need a base coat and two finishing coats.

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Based is always a great word to know.

So is interrobang. Does it mean:

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

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verb (used with object)

27.

to make or form a base or foundation for.

28.

to establish, as a fact or conclusion (usually followed by on or upon): He based his assumption of her guilt on the fact that she had no alibi.

29.

to place or establish on a base or basis; ground; found (usually followed by on or upon): Our plan is based on a rising economy.

30.

to station, place, or situate (usually followed by at or on): He is based at Fort Benning. The squadron is based on a carrier.

verb (used without object)

31.

to have a basis; be based (usually followed by on or upon): Fluctuating prices usually base on a fickle public's demand.

32.

to have or maintain a base: I believe they had based on Greenland at one time.

Idioms

33.

get to first base. first base (def. 2).

34.

off base,

Baseball. not touching a base: The pitcher caught him off base and, after a quick throw, he was put out by the second baseman.

Informal. badly mistaken: The police were way off base when they tried to accuse her of the theft.

35.

on base, Baseball. having reached a base or bases: Two men are on base.

36.

touch base with, to make contact with: They've touched base with every political group on campus.

Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English (noun) < Middle French < Latin basis basis; compare prisoner's base

Related forms

un·based, adjective

well-based, adjective

Synonyms
1. Base, basis, foundation refer to anything upon which a structure is built and upon which it rests. Base usually refers to a literal supporting structure: the base of a statue. Basis more often refers to a figurative support: the basis of a report. Foundation implies a solid, secure understructure: the foundation of a skyscraper or a rumor.

Link To based

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

base

late 14c., from O.Fr. bas (Mod.Fr. bas) "low, lowly, mean," from L.L. bassus "thick, stumpy, low" (used only as a cognomen in classical Latin, humilis being there the usual word for "low in stature or position"), possibly from Oscan, or Celtic, or related to Gk. basson, comparative of bathys "deep."

EXPAND

Figurative sense of "low in the moral scale" is first attested 1530s in English, earlier "servile" (1520s). Base metals (c.1600) were worthless in contrast to noble or precious metals.

COLLAPSE

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

base (bās)
n.

The part of an organ nearest its point of attachment.
A fundamental ingredient; a chief constituent of a mixture.
Any of a large class of compounds, including the hydroxides and oxides of metals, having a bitter taste, a slippery solution, the capacity to turn litmus blue, and to react with acids to form salts.
A molecular or ionic substance capable of combining with a proton to form a new substance. Also called Brønsted base.
A nitrogen-containing organic compound that combines in such a manner.
A substance that provides a pair of electrons for a covalent bond with an acid.

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

base (bās) Pronunciation Key

Chemistry
1. Any of a class of compounds that form hydroxyl ions (OH) when dissolved in water, and whose aqueous solutions react with acids to form salts. Bases turn red litmus paper blue and have a pH greater than 7. Their aqueous solutions have a bitter taste. Compare acid.
2. See nitrogen base.
3. The side or face of a geometric figure to which an altitude is or is thought to be drawn. The base can be, but is not always, the bottom part of the figure.
4. The number that is raised to various powers to generate the principal counting units of a number system. The base of the decimal system, for example, is 10.
5. The number that is raised to a particular power in a given mathematical expression. In the expression aⁿ, a is the base.
Mathematics
1. The side or face of a geometric figure to which an altitude is or is thought to be drawn. The base can be, but is not always, the bottom part of the figure.
2. The number that is raised to various powers to generate the principal counting units of a number system. The base of the decimal system, for example, is 10.
3. The number that is raised to a particular power in a given mathematical expression. In the expression aⁿ, a is the base.

American Heritage

Cultural Dictionary

base definition

Any of a number of bitter-tasting, caustic materials. Technically, a material that produces negative ions in solution. A base is the opposite of an acid and has a pH of 7 to 14. A given amount of a base added to the same amount of an acid neutralizes the acid; water and a salt are produced. Alkalis are bases; ammonia is a common base.

Slang Dictionary

base definition

mod.
rude; gross. (California.) : You are so, like, base!

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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