|
  • Search Results
  • Advanced Search
  • List Builder
  • Random Word

base

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 empire 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).

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: base

1
 nadj
lowest support of a structure
serving as or forming a base
2
 nv
the most important or necessary part of something
use as a basis for; found on
3
 n
a phosphoric ester of a nucleoside; the basic structural unit of nucleic acids (DNA or RNA)
4
 n
(numeration system) the positive integer that is equivalent to one in the next higher counting place
5
 n
a place that the runner must touch before scoring
6
 n
(electronics) the part of a transistor that separates the emitter from the collector
7
 v
use (purified cocaine) by burning it and inhaling the fumes
8
 adj
of low birth or station (`base' is archaic in this sense)
FULL DEFINITIONS OF: base
1

n lowest support of a structure

“it was built on a base of solid rock”
Synonyms:
foot, foundation, fundament, groundwork, substructure, understructure
Types:
show 4 types...
hide 4 types...
bed
a foundation of earth or rock supporting a road or railroad track
raft foundation
a foundation (usually on soft ground) consisting of an extended layer of reinforced concrete
railroad bed
a bed on which railroad track is laid
roadbed
a bed supporting a road
Type of:
support
supporting structure that holds up or provides a foundation

n a support or foundation

“the base of the lamp”
Synonyms:
pedestal, stand
Types:
show 4 types...
hide 4 types...
brass monkey
a metal stand that formerly held cannon balls on sailing ships
staddle
a base or platform on which hay or corn is stacked
trivet
a stand with short feet used under a hot dish on a table
trivet
a three-legged metal stand for supporting a cooking vessel in a hearth
Type of:
support
any device that bears the weight of another thing

n a flat bottom on which something is intended to sit

“a tub should sit on its own base”
Type of:
bottom, underside, undersurface
the lower side of anything

n the bottom or lowest part

“the base of the mountain”
Type of:
part, piece
a portion of a natural object

n the bottom side of a geometric figure from which the altitude can be constructed

“the base of the triangle”
Type of:
flank
a subfigure consisting of a side of something

n (anatomy) the part of an organ nearest its point of attachment

“the base of the skull”
Type of:
bottom
the lowest part of anything

n a lower limit

Synonyms:
floor
Types:
price floor
floor below which prices are not allowed to fall
wage floor
floor below which wages are not allowed to fall
Type of:
control
the economic policy of controlling or limiting or curbing prices or wages etc.

adj serving as or forming a base

“the painter applied a base coat followed by two finishing coats”
Synonyms:
basal
basic
pertaining to or constituting a base or basis
2

n the most important or necessary part of something

Synonyms:
basis
Type of:
component, component part, constituent, part, portion
something determined in relation to something that includes it

n the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained

Synonyms:
basis, cornerstone, foundation, fundament, groundwork
Types:
meat and potatoes
the fundamental part
Type of:
assumption, supposal, supposition
a hypothesis that is taken for granted

n the place where you are stationed and from which missions start and end

Synonyms:
home
Type of:
location
a point or extent in space

n installation from which a military force initiates operations

“the attack wiped out our forward bases”
Synonyms:
base of operations
Types:
show 5 types...
hide 5 types...
air base, air station
a base for military aircraft
army base
a large base of operations for an army
firebase
an artillery base to support advancing troops
navy base
base of operations for a naval fleet
rocket base
a military base for rocket missiles
Type of:
military installation
any facility servicing military forces

n the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area

“the industrial base of Japan”
Synonyms:
infrastructure
Type of:
fund, stock, store
a supply of something available for future use

n (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed

Synonyms:
radical, root, root word, stem, theme
Type of:
descriptor, form, signifier, word form
the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something

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”
Type of:
ingredient
a component of a mixture or compound

v use as a basis for; found on

“base a claim on some observation”
Synonyms:
establish, found, ground
Types:
build
found or ground

v situate as a center of operations

“we will base this project in the new lab”
Type of:
locate, situate
determine or indicate the place, site, or limits of, as if by an instrument or by a survey
3

n a phosphoric ester of a nucleoside; the basic structural unit of nucleic acids (DNA or RNA)

Synonyms:
nucleotide
Types:
show 10 types...
hide 10 types...
base pair
one 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 RNA
AMP, adenosine monophosphate, adenylic acid
a nucleotide found in muscle cells and important in metabolism; reversibly convertible to ADP and ATP
ADP, adenosine diphosphate
an ester of adenosine that is converted to ATP for energy storage
ATP, adenosine triphosphate
a nucleotide derived from adenosine that occurs in muscle tissue; the major source of energy for cellular reactions
A, deoxyadenosine monophosphate
one of the four nucleotides used in building DNA; all four nucleotides have a common phosphate group and a sugar (ribose)
C, deoxycytidine monophosphate
one of the four nucleotides used in building DNA; all four nucleotides have a common phosphate group and a sugar (ribose)
G, deoxyguanosine monophosphate
one of the four nucleotides used in building DNA; all four nucleotides have a common phosphate group and a sugar (ribose)
T, deoxythymidine monophosphate
one of the four nucleotides used in building DNA; all four nucleotides have a common phosphate group and a sugar (ribose)
muton
the smallest unit of DNA where a mutation can occur
U, uracil
a base containing nitrogen that is found in RNA (but not in DNA) and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with adenine
Type of:
ester
formed by reaction between an acid and an alcohol with elimination of water

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”
Synonyms:
alkali
Types:
show 11 types...
hide 11 types...
pyridine
a toxic colorless flammable liquid organic base with a disagreeable odor; usually derived from coal
purine
a colorless crystalline organic base containing nitrogen; the parent compound of various biologically important substances
purine
any of several bases that are derivatives of purine
glyoxaline, imidazole, iminazole
an organic base C3H4N2; a histamine inhibitor
cyanuramide, melamine
a white crystalline organic base; used mainly in making melamine resins
pyrimidine
any of several basic compounds derived from pyrimidine
A, adenine
(biochemistry) purine base found in DNA and RNA; pairs with thymine in DNA and with uracil in RNA
C, cytosine
a base found in DNA and RNA and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with guanine
G, guanine
a purine base found in DNA and RNA; pairs with cytosine
T, thymine
a base found in DNA (but not in RNA) and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with adenine
triphosphopyridine
a pyridine ring with three phosphorus groups
Type of:
chemical compound, compound
(chemistry) a substance formed by chemical union of two or more elements or ingredients in definite proportion by weight
4

n (numeration system) the positive integer that is equivalent to one in the next higher counting place

Synonyms:
radix
Type of:
number
a concept of quantity involving zero and units
5

n a place that the runner must touch before scoring

Synonyms:
bag
Types:
show 4 types...
hide 4 types...
first base
the base that must be touched first by a base runner in baseball
home, 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 score
second base
the base that must be touched second by a base runner in baseball
third, third base
the base that must be touched third by a base runner in baseball
Type of:
baseball equipment
equipment used in playing baseball
6

n (electronics) the part of a transistor that separates the emitter from the collector

Type of:
electrode
a conductor used to make electrical contact with some part of a circuit
7

v use (purified cocaine) by burning it and inhaling the fumes

Synonyms:
free-base
Type of:
do drugs, drug
use recreational drugs
8

adj of low birth or station (`base' is archaic in this sense)

Synonyms:
baseborn, humble, lowly
lowborn
of humble birth or origins

adj debased; not genuine

“an attempt to eliminate the base coinage”
Synonyms
counterfeit, imitative
not genuine; imitating something superior

adj illegitimate

Synonyms:
baseborn
illegitimate
of marriages and offspring; not recognized as lawful

adj not adhering to ethical or moral principles

“base and unpatriotic motives”
“a base, degrading way of life”
Synonyms:
immoral
wrong
contrary to conscience or morality or law

adj 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, meanspirited
ignoble
completely lacking nobility in character or quality or purpose

adj (used of metals) consisting of or alloyed with inferior metal

“base coins of aluminum”
“a base metal”
Synonyms
inferior
of low or inferior quality
Learn Launch
WORD FAMILY
USAGE EXAMPLES