base
Other forms: based; bases; baser; basest; basing
The base of something is usually the foundation, starting point, or main ingredient of something. A soup base is the flavoring or broth you use to get your soup started.
If you're a soldier, you might live on a base ("place where you're stationed"). When your unit plays softball, you must touch each base before scoring. The bottom of pentagon-shaped home plate is its base ("bottom"). Yelling at or pushing the umpire is considered base ("mean-spirited") behavior. At end of the season, your team might get a trophy, which sits on a base ("pedestal"), or a plaque made of brass, an alloy of zinc, which is base metal (it corrodes easily).
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lowest support of a structure“it was built on a base of solid rock”synonyms: foot, foundation, fundament, groundwork, substructure, understructuretypes:beda foundation of earth or rock supporting a road or railroad trackraft foundationa foundation (usually on soft ground) consisting of an extended layer of reinforced concreterailroad beda bed on which railroad track is laidroadbeda bed supporting a roadtype of:supportsupporting structure that holds up or provides a foundation
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a support or foundation“the base of the lamp”types:brass monkeya metal stand that formerly held cannon balls on sailing shipsstaddlea base or platform on which hay or corn is stackedtriveta stand, often with short feet, used under a hot dish on a tabletriveta three-legged metal stand for supporting a cooking vessel in a hearthtype of:supportany device that bears the weight of another thing
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a flat bottom on which something is intended to sit
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the bottom or lowest part
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the bottom side of a geometric figure from which the altitude can be constructed“the base of the triangle”type of:flanka subfigure consisting of a side of something
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(anatomy) the part of an organ nearest its point of attachment“the base of the skull”type of:bottomthe lowest part of anything
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a lower limitsynonyms: floortypes:price floorfloor below which prices are not allowed to fallwage floorfloor below which wages are not allowed to falltype of:controlthe economic policy of controlling or limiting or curbing prices or wages etc.
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serving as or forming a base
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the most important or necessary part of somethingsynonyms: basistype of:component, component part, constituent, moiety, part, portionsomething determined in relation to something that includes it
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the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explainedsynonyms: basis, cornerstone, foundation, fundament, groundworktypes:meat and potatoesthe fundamental parttype of:
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the place where you are stationed and from which missions start and end
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installation from which a military force initiates operations“the attack wiped out our forward bases”synonyms: base of operationstypes:army basea large base of operations for an armyfirebasean artillery base to support advancing troopsnavy basebase of operations for a naval fleetrocket basea military base for rocket missilestype of:military installationany facility servicing military forces
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the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area“the industrial base of Japan”synonyms: infrastructure
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(linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed
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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”type of:ingredienta component of a mixture or compound
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use as a basis for; found on
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situate as a center of operations
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a phosphoric ester of a nucleoside; the basic structural unit of nucleic acids (DNA or RNA)synonyms: nucleotidetypes:base pairone of the pairs of chemical bases joined by hydrogen bonds that connect the complementary strands of a DNA molecule or of an RNA molecule that has two strands; the base pairs are adenine with thymine and guanine with cytosine in DNA and adenine with uracil and guanine with cytosine in RNAAMP, adenosine monophosphate, adenylic acida nucleotide found in muscle cells and important in metabolism; reversibly convertible to ADP and ATPATP, adenosine triphosphatea nucleotide derived from adenosine that occurs in muscle tissue; the major source of energy for cellular reactionsA, deoxyadenosine monophosphateone of the four nucleotides used in building DNA; all four nucleotides have a common phosphate group and a sugar (ribose)C, deoxycytidine monophosphateone of the four nucleotides used in building DNA; all four nucleotides have a common phosphate group and a sugar (ribose)G, deoxyguanosine monophosphateone of the four nucleotides used in building DNA; all four nucleotides have a common phosphate group and a sugar (ribose)T, deoxythymidine monophosphateone of the four nucleotides used in building DNA; all four nucleotides have a common phosphate group and a sugar (ribose)mutonthe smallest unit of DNA where a mutation can occurtype of:esterformed by reaction between an acid and an alcohol with elimination of water
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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: alkalitypes:pyridinea toxic colorless flammable liquid organic base with a disagreeable odor; usually derived from coalpurinea colorless crystalline organic base containing nitrogen; the parent compound of various biologically important substancespurineany of several bases that are derivatives of purinepyrimidineany of several basic compounds derived from pyrimidineA, adenine(biochemistry) purine base found in DNA and RNA; pairs with thymine in DNA and with uracil in RNAtriphosphopyridinea pyridine ring with three phosphorus groupstype of:chemical compound, compound(chemistry) a substance formed by chemical union of two or more elements or ingredients in definite proportion by weight
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(numeration system) the positive integer that is equivalent to one in the next higher counting place
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a place that the runner must touch before scoringsynonyms: bagtypes:first basethe base that must be touched first by a base runner in baseballhome, home base, home plate, plate(baseball) base consisting of a rubber slab where the batter stands; it must be touched by a base runner in order to scoresecond basethe base that must be touched second by a base runner in baseballtype of:baseball equipmentequipment used in playing baseball
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(electronics) the part of a transistor that separates the emitter from the collectortype of:electrodea conductor used to make electrical contact with some part of a circuit
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use (purified cocaine) by burning it and inhaling the fumes
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of low birth or station (`base' is archaic in this sense)
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debased; not genuine“an attempt to eliminate the base coinage”synonyms:
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illegitimatesynonyms: basebornillegitimateof marriages and offspring; not recognized as lawful
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not adhering to ethical or moral principles
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having or showing an ignoble lack of honor or morality“"that liberal obedience without which your army would be a base rabble"- Edmund Burke”synonyms: mean, meanspiritedignoblecompletely lacking nobility in character or quality or purpose
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(used of metals) consisting of or alloyed with inferior metal
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base / bass
Vocabulary lists containing base
Context is king — that’s the lesson you need to internalize as you begin preparing for the vocabulary questions on the SAT. We have identified this pool of 200 words that cut across the disciplines and lend themselves well to context-dependent interpretation. As you learn this list on Vocabulary.com, you will have to rely on context clues in order to determine each word’s meaning in particular sentences. This is the same type of thinking you will need to develop in order to succeed on the SAT! Following our Roadmap to the SAT? Head back to see what else you should be learning this week.
From spring training and opening day right up through the World Series, baseball (a.k.a. our national pastime) is a sport with rabid fans. It's also known for having plenty of downtime, so why not practice the language of the game during the many hours it'll take to wrap up all nine innings?
On the ACT Reading Test, you'll encounter questions that ask you to determine the meanings of common words in context. We've identified 200 high-frequency, multiple-meaning words of the sort that you'll see on the exam. As you practice this list, you'll have to rely on context clues in order to determine each word’s meaning in a particular sentence. Be careful! Several of a word's meanings might show up as answer choices — but only one answer will capture the meaning of the word in the context of the sentence.