Search Result for "base": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (20)

1. installation from which a military force initiates operations;
- Example: "the attack wiped out our forward bases"
[syn: base, base of operations]

2. lowest support of a structure;
- Example: "it was built on a base of solid rock"
- Example: "he stood at the foot of the tower"
[syn: foundation, base, fundament, foot, groundwork, substructure, understructure]

3. a place that the runner must touch before scoring;
- Example: "he scrambled to get back to the bag"
[syn: base, bag]

4. the bottom or lowest part;
- Example: "the base of the mountain"

5. (anatomy) the part of an organ nearest its point of attachment;
- Example: "the base of the skull"

6. a lower limit;
- Example: "the government established a wage floor"
[syn: floor, base]

7. the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained;
- Example: "the whole argument rested on a basis of conjecture"
[syn: basis, base, foundation, fundament, groundwork, cornerstone]

8. a support or foundation;
- Example: "the base of the lamp"
[syn: base, pedestal, stand]

9. a phosphoric ester of a nucleoside; the basic structural unit of nucleic acids (DNA or RNA);
[syn: nucleotide, base]

10. any of various water-soluble compounds capable of turning litmus blue and reacting with an acid to form a salt and water;
- Example: "bases include oxides and hydroxides of metals and ammonia"
[syn: base, alkali]

11. the bottom side of a geometric figure from which the altitude can be constructed;
- Example: "the base of the triangle"

12. the most important or necessary part of something;
- Example: "the basis of this drink is orange juice"
[syn: basis, base]

13. (numeration system) the positive integer that is equivalent to one in the next higher counting place;
- Example: "10 is the radix of the decimal system"
[syn: base, radix]

14. the place where you are stationed and from which missions start and end;
[syn: base, home]

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;
[syn: al-Qaeda, Qaeda, al-Qa'ida, al-Qaida, Base]

16. (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed;
- Example: "thematic vowels are part of the stem"
[syn: root, root word, base, stem, theme, radical]

17. the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area;
- Example: "the industrial base of Japan"
[syn: infrastructure, base]

18. the principal ingredient of a mixture;
- Example: "glycerinated gelatin is used as a base for many ointments"
- Example: "he told the painter that he wanted a yellow base with just a hint of green"
- Example: "everything she cooked seemed to have rice as the base"

19. a flat bottom on which something is intended to sit;
- Example: "a tub should sit on its own base"

20. (electronics) the part of a transistor that separates the emitter from the collector;


VERB (3)

1. use as a basis for; found on;
- Example: "base a claim on some observation"
[syn: establish, base, ground, found]

2. situate as a center of operations;
- Example: "we will base this project in the new lab"

3. use (purified cocaine) by burning it and inhaling the fumes;
[syn: free-base, base]


ADJECTIVE (7)

1. serving as or forming a base;
- Example: "the painter applied a base coat followed by two finishing coats"
[syn: basal, base]

2. of low birth or station (`base' is archaic in this sense);
- Example: "baseborn wretches with dirty faces"
- Example: "of humble (or lowly) birth"
[syn: base, baseborn, humble, lowly]

3. (used of metals) consisting of or alloyed with inferior metal;
- Example: "base coins of aluminum"
- Example: "a base metal"

4. not adhering to ethical or moral principles;
- Example: "base and unpatriotic motives"
- Example: "a base, degrading way of life"
- Example: "cheating is dishonorable"
- Example: "they considered colonialism immoral"
- Example: "unethical practices in handling public funds"
[syn: base, immoral]

5. having or showing an ignoble lack of honor or morality;
- Example: "that liberal obedience without which your army would be a base rabble"- Edmund Burke
- Example: "taking a mean advantage"
- Example: "chok'd with ambition of the meaner sort"- Shakespeare
- Example: "something essentially vulgar and meanspirited in politics"
[syn: base, mean, meanspirited]

6. illegitimate;
[syn: base, baseborn]

7. debased; not genuine;
- Example: "an attempt to eliminate the base coinage"


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Base \Base\ (b[=a]s), a. [OE. bass, F. bas, low, fr. LL. bassus thick, fat, short, humble; cf. L. Bassus, a proper name, and W. bas shallow. Cf. Bass a part in music.] 1. Of little, or less than the usual, height; of low growth; as, base shrubs. [Archaic] --Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. Low in place or position. [Obs.] --Shak. [1913 Webster] 3. Of humble birth; or low degree; lowly; mean. [Archaic] "A peasant and base swain." --Bacon. [1913 Webster] 4. Illegitimate by birth; bastard. [Archaic] [1913 Webster] Why bastard? wherefore base? --Shak. [1913 Webster] 5. Of little comparative value, as metal inferior to gold and silver, the precious metals. [1913 Webster] 6. Alloyed with inferior metal; debased; as, base coin; base bullion. [1913 Webster] 7. Morally low. Hence: Low-minded; unworthy; without dignity of sentiment; ignoble; mean; illiberal; menial; as, a base fellow; base motives; base occupations. "A cruel act of a base and a cowardish mind." --Robynson (More's Utopia). "Base ingratitude." --Milton. [1913 Webster] 8. Not classical or correct. "Base Latin." --Fuller. [1913 Webster] 9. Deep or grave in sound; as, the base tone of a violin. [In this sense, commonly written bass.] [1913 Webster] 10. (Law) Not held by honorable service; as, a base estate, one held by services not honorable; held by villenage. Such a tenure is called base, or low, and the tenant, a base tenant. [1913 Webster] Base fee, formerly, an estate held at the will of the lord; now, a qualified fee. See note under Fee, n., 4. Base metal. See under Metal. [1913 Webster] Syn: Dishonorable; worthless; ignoble; low-minded; infamous; sordid; degraded. Usage: Base, Vile, Mean. These words, as expressing moral qualities, are here arranged in the order of their strength, the strongest being placed first. Base marks a high degree of moral turpitude; vile and mean denote, in different degrees, the lack of what is valuable or worthy of esteem. What is base excites our abhorrence; what is vile provokes our disgust or indignation; what is mean awakens contempt. Base is opposed to high-minded; vile, to noble; mean, to liberal or generous. Ingratitude is base; sycophancy is vile; undue compliances are mean. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Base \Base\, n. [F. base, L. basis, fr. Gr. ba`sis a stepping, step, a base, pedestal, fr. bai`nein to go, step, akin to E. come. Cf. Basis, and see Come.] 1. The bottom of anything, considered as its support, or that on which something rests for support; the foundation; as, the base of a statue. "The base of mighty mountains." --Prescott. [1913 Webster] 2. Fig.: The fundamental or essential part of a thing; the essential principle; a groundwork. [1913 Webster] 3. (Arch.) (a) The lower part of a wall, pier, or column, when treated as a separate feature, usually in projection, or especially ornamented. (b) The lower part of a complete architectural design, as of a monument; also, the lower part of any elaborate piece of furniture or decoration. [1913 Webster] 4. (Bot.) That extremity of a leaf, fruit, etc., at which it is attached to its support. [1913 Webster] 5. (Chem.) The positive, or non-acid component of a salt; a substance which, combined with an acid, neutralizes the latter and forms a salt; -- applied also to the hydroxides of the positive elements or radicals, and to certain organic bodies resembling them in their property of forming salts with acids. [1913 Webster] 6. (Pharmacy) The chief ingredient in a compound. [1913 Webster] 7. (Dyeing) A substance used as a mordant. --Ure. [1913 Webster] 8. (Fort.) The exterior side of the polygon, or that imaginary line which connects the salient angles of two adjacent bastions. [1913 Webster] 9. (Geom.) The line or surface constituting that part of a figure on which it is supposed to stand. [1913 Webster] 10. (Math.) The number from which a mathematical table is constructed; as, the base of a system of logarithms. [1913 Webster] 11. [See Base low.] A low, or deep, sound. (Mus.) (a) The lowest part; the deepest male voice. (b) One who sings, or the instrument which plays, base. [Now commonly written bass.] [1913 Webster] The trebles squeak for fear, the bases roar. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] 12. (Mil.) A place or tract of country, protected by fortifications, or by natural advantages, from which the operations of an army proceed, forward movements are made, supplies are furnished, etc. [1913 Webster] 13. (Mil.) The smallest kind of cannon. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] 14. (Zool.) That part of an organ by which it is attached to another more central organ. [1913 Webster] 15. (Crystallog.) The basal plane of a crystal. [1913 Webster] 16. (Geol.) The ground mass of a rock, especially if not distinctly crystalline. [1913 Webster] 17. (Her.) The lower part of the field. See Escutcheon. [1913 Webster] 18. The housing of a horse. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] 19. pl. A kind of skirt (often of velvet or brocade, but sometimes of mailed armor) which hung from the middle to about the knees, or lower. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] 20. The lower part of a robe or petticoat. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] 21. An apron. [Obs.] "Bakers in their linen bases." --Marston. [1913 Webster] 22. The point or line from which a start is made; a starting place or a goal in various games. [1913 Webster] To their appointed base they went. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] 23. (Surv.) A line in a survey which, being accurately determined in length and position, serves as the origin from which to compute the distances and positions of any points or objects connected with it by a system of triangles. --Lyman. [1913 Webster] 24. A rustic play; -- called also prisoner's base, prison base, or bars. "To run the country base." --Shak. [1913 Webster] 25. (Baseball) Any one of the four bounds which mark the circuit of the infield. [1913 Webster] Altern base. See under Altern. Attic base. (Arch.) See under Attic. Base course. (Arch.) (a) The first or lower course of a foundation wall, made of large stones or a mass of concrete; -- called also foundation course. (b) The architectural member forming the transition between the basement and the wall above. Base hit (Baseball), a hit, by which the batsman, without any error on the part of his opponents, is able to reach the first base without being put out. Base line. (a) A main line taken as a base, as in surveying or in military operations. (b) A line traced round a cannon at the rear of the vent. Base plate, the foundation plate of heavy machinery, as of the steam engine; the bed plate. Base ring (Ordnance), a projecting band of metal around the breech, connected with the body of the gun by a concave molding. --H. L. Scott. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Base \Base\, v. t. [See Base, a., and cf. Abase.] 1. To abase; to let, or cast, down; to lower. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] If any . . . based his pike. --Sir T. North. [1913 Webster] 2. To reduce the value of; to debase. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Metals which we can not base. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Base \Base\ (b[=a]s), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Based (b[=a]sd); p. pr. & vb. n. Basing.] [From Base, n.] To put on a base or basis; to lay the foundation of; to found, as an argument or conclusion; -- used with on or upon. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Bass \Bass\ (b[=a]s), n. [F. basse, fr. bas low. See Base, a.] [1913 Webster] 1. A bass, or deep, sound or tone. [1913 Webster] 2. (Mus.) (a) The lowest part in a musical composition. (b) One who sings, or the instrument which plays, bass. [Written also base.] [1913 Webster] Thorough bass. See Thorough bass. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

base adj 1: serving as or forming a base; "the painter applied a base coat followed by two finishing coats" [syn: basal, base] 2: of low birth or station (`base' is archaic in this sense); "baseborn wretches with dirty faces"; "of humble (or lowly) birth" [syn: base, baseborn, humble, lowly] 3: (used of metals) consisting of or alloyed with inferior metal; "base coins of aluminum"; "a base metal" 4: 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" [syn: base, immoral] 5: 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 vulgar and meanspirited in politics" [syn: base, mean, meanspirited] 6: illegitimate [syn: base, baseborn] 7: debased; not genuine; "an attempt to eliminate the base coinage" n 1: installation from which a military force initiates operations; "the attack wiped out our forward bases" [syn: base, base of operations] 2: lowest support of a structure; "it was built on a base of solid rock"; "he stood at the foot of the tower" [syn: foundation, base, fundament, foot, groundwork, substructure, understructure] 3: a place that the runner must touch before scoring; "he scrambled to get back to the bag" [syn: base, bag] 4: the bottom or lowest part; "the base of the mountain" 5: (anatomy) the part of an organ nearest its point of attachment; "the base of the skull" 6: a lower limit; "the government established a wage floor" [syn: floor, base] 7: the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained; "the whole argument rested on a basis of conjecture" [syn: basis, base, foundation, fundament, groundwork, cornerstone] 8: a support or foundation; "the base of the lamp" [syn: base, pedestal, stand] 9: a phosphoric ester of a nucleoside; the basic structural unit of nucleic acids (DNA or RNA) [syn: nucleotide, base] 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" [syn: base, alkali] 11: the bottom side of a geometric figure from which the altitude can be constructed; "the base of the triangle" 12: the most important or necessary part of something; "the basis of this drink is orange juice" [syn: basis, base] 13: (numeration system) the positive integer that is equivalent to one in the next higher counting place; "10 is the radix of the decimal system" [syn: base, radix] 14: the place where you are stationed and from which missions start and end [syn: base, home] 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 [syn: al-Qaeda, Qaeda, al-Qa'ida, al-Qaida, Base] 16: (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed; "thematic vowels are part of the stem" [syn: root, root word, base, stem, theme, radical] 17: the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area; "the industrial base of Japan" [syn: infrastructure, base] 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" 19: a flat bottom on which something is intended to sit; "a tub should sit on its own base" 20: (electronics) the part of a transistor that separates the emitter from the collector v 1: use as a basis for; found on; "base a claim on some observation" [syn: establish, base, ground, found] 2: situate as a center of operations; "we will base this project in the new lab" 3: use (purified cocaine) by burning it and inhaling the fumes [syn: free-base, base]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

488 Moby Thesaurus words for "base": CP, GHQ, HQ, Mickey Mouse, abhorrent, abject, abominable, acid, acidity, agent, alkali, alkalinity, alloisomer, anchor, angle, anion, antacid, antecedents, arrant, atom, atrocious, awful, background, bad, baluster, balustrade, banister, base of operations, base-minded, baseboard, baseborn, basement, basis, bearing wall, beastly, bed, bed on, bedding, bedrock, beggarly, below contempt, beneath contempt, biochemical, black, blackguardly, blamable, blameworthy, bolster, bottom, bottom on, brutal, build, build in, build on, buttress, caitiff, call, camp, caryatid, cation, causation, cause, cause and effect, center of authority, central administration, central office, central station, chassis, cheap, cheesy, chemical, chemical element, chromoisomer, clown white, coarse, cold cream, collector, colonnade, column, command post, common, compact, company headquarters, compound, construct, contemptible, copolymer, core, corrupt, cosmetics, counterfeit, cowardly, craven, criminal, crude, crummy, dado, damnable, dark, dastard, dastardly, debased, deficient, degraded, degrading, deplorable, depraved, derive, despicable, determinant, determinative, detestable, die, dimer, dire, dirty, disgraceful, disgusting, dishonorable, disreputable, distance, downtrodden, draw, dreadful, drugstore complexion, dunghill, dunghilly, egregious, element, emitter, enormous, establish, etiology, evil, evil-minded, execrable, eye shadow, eyebrow pencil, factor, fake, fetid, filamentary transistor, filthy, fix, flagitious, flagrant, floor, flooring, fond, foot, footing, footstalk, forbidding, forged, form, foul, found, found on, foundation, foundation cream, fourth-class, frame, framework, fraudulent, fulsome, fundament, fundamental, general headquarters, germanium crystal triode, grave, greasepaint, grievous, gross, ground, ground on, grounds, groundwork, hand cream, hand lotion, hardpan, hateful, headquarters, heavy chemicals, heinous, high polymer, hinge, home, homopolymer, hook-collector transistor, horrible, horrid, humble, humiliating, hydracid, ignoble, ignominious, imperfect, improper, inadequate, incompetent, indecent, infamous, inferior, infra dig, infrastructure, iniquitous, inorganic chemical, install, insufferable, insufficient, invest, ion, irregular, isomer, jack, keel, knavish, lamentable, lascivious, lay the foundation, lewd, line of departure, lip rouge, lipstick, little, loathsome, lousy, low, low-class, low-down, low-grade, low-minded, low-quality, low-test, lowborn, lower strata, lowest level, lowest point, lowly, lumpen, macromolecule, main office, makeup, maladroit, malodorous, mangy, mascara, mean, measly, mediocre, menial, mephitic, metamer, miasmal, miasmic, miserable, molecule, monomer, monstrous, mopboard, mudpack, nadir, nail polish, nasty, naughty, nauseating, nefarious, neutralizer, newel-post, noisome, nonacid, not comparable, not in it, notorious, noxious, objectionable, obnoxious, obscene, occasion, odious, offensive, organic chemical, ornery, out of it, outrageous, oxyacid, paint, paltry, pavement, peccant, pedestal, pedicel, peduncle, perspective, petty, pier, pilaster, pile, piling, pillar, pinchbeck, pitch, pitiable, pitiful, place, plant, plebeian, plinth, point of departure, point-contact transistor, poky, pole, poltroon, poltroonish, polymer, poor, pornographic, port of embarkation, position, post, powder, powder puff, predicate, principle, profane, prop, pseudoisomer, puff, punk, pusillanimous, put in, put up, queen-post, radical, rank, rascally, reagent, rebarbative, recreant, regrettable, repellent, reprehensible, reprobate, reptilian, repugnant, repulsive, rest, revolting, ribald, riprap, rock bottom, roguish, root, rotten, rouge, rubbishy, rude, rudiment, sad, scabby, scampish, scandalous, schlock, scoundrelly, scrubby, scruffy, scummy, scurrilous, scurvy, seat, seating, second-best, second-class, secure, seedy, selfish, servile, set, set on, set up, shabby, shaft, shameful, shocking, shoddy, shoemold, sickening, sill, sinful, slavish, sleazy, small, socle, sole, solid ground, solid rock, sordid, sorry, spacistor, spurious, squalid, staff, stalk, stanchion, stand, standard, standing, start, starting gate, starting place, starting point, starting post, station, status, stay, stem, stereobate, stimulus, stinking, stylobate, subbase, submissive, subservient, substratum, substruction, substructure, sulfacid, support, surbase, tacky, takeoff, talcum, talcum powder, tatty, terra firma, terrible, tetrode transistor, theme, third-class, third-rate, tinny, toe, too bad, transistor, trashy, trimer, trivial, trunk, ugly, unclean, underbuilding, undercarriage, undergird, undergirding, underlie, underlying level, underpinning, understruction, understructure, undignified, unforgivable, unipolar transistor, unmentionable, unpardonable, unseemly, unskillful, unspeakable, unwashed, unworthy, upright, vanishing cream, vanity case, venue, vest, vicious, viewpoint, vile, villainous, vulgar, wainscot, war paint, warrant, wicked, woeful, worst, worthless, wretched, wrong
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):

base radix.
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

BASE. Something low; inferior. This word is frequently used in composition; as base court, base estate, base fee, &c.