Main Entry: ¹base

Pronunciation: \ˈbās\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural bas·es \ˈbā-səz\

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin basis, from Greek, step, base, from bainein to go — more at come

Date: 13th century

1 a (1) : the lower part of a wall, pier, or column considered as a separate architectural feature (2) : the lower part of a complete architectural design b : the bottom of something considered as its support : foundation c (1) : a side or face of a geometrical figure from which an altitude can be constructed; especially : one on which the figure stands (2) : the length of a base d : that part of a bodily organ by which it is attached to another more central structure of the organism
2 a : a main ingredient <paint having a latex base> b : a supporting or carrying ingredient (as of a medicine)
3 a : the fundamental part of something : groundwork, basis b : the economic factors on which in Marxist theory all legal, social, and political relations are formed
4 : the lower part of a heraldic field
5 a : the starting point or line for an action or undertaking b : a baseline in surveying c : a center or area of operations: as (1) : the place from which a military force draws supplies (2) : a place where military operations begin (3) : a permanent military installation d (1) : a number (as 5 in 5^6.44 or 5⁷) that is raised to a power; especially : the number that when raised to a power equal to the logarithm of a number yields the number itself <the logarithm of 100 to the base 10 is 2 since 10² = 100> (2) : a number equal to the number of units in a given digit's place that for a given system of writing numbers is required to give the numeral 1 in the next higher place <the decimal system uses a base of 10>; also : such a system of writing numbers using an indicated base <convert from base 10 to base 2> (3) : a number that is multiplied by a rate or of which a percentage or fraction is calculated <to find the interest on $90 at 10 percent multiply the base 90 by .10> e : root 6
6 a : the starting place or goal in various games b : any one of the four stations at the corners of a baseball infield c : a point to be considered <his opening remarks touched every base>
7 a : any of various typically water-soluble and bitter tasting compounds that in solution have a pH greater than 7, are capable of reacting with an acid to form a salt, and are molecules or ions able to take up a proton from an acid or able to give up an unshared pair of electrons to an acid b : any of the five purine or pyrimidine bases of DNA and RNA that include cytosine, guanine, adenine, thymine, and uracil
8 : a price level at which a security previously declining in price resists further decline
9 : the part of a transformational grammar that consists of rules and a lexicon and generates the deep structures of a language

— based \ˈbāst\ adjective

— base·less \ˈbā-sləs\ adjective

— off base 1 : wrong, mistaken <estimates were way off base>
2 : unawares <caught off base by the charges>

[base illustration]