plural bass or basses
: any of numerous edible marine or freshwater bony fishes (especially families Centrarchidae, Serranidae, and Percichthyidae of the order Perciformes)
1
: deep or grave in tone
2
a
: of low pitch
b
: relating to or having the range or part of a bass
1
a
: the lowest voice part in a 4-part chorus
b
: the lower half of the whole vocal or instrumental tonal range compare treble entry 1
c
: the lowest adult male singing voice
also
: a person having this voice
d
: a member of a family of instruments having the lowest range
especially
: double bass
2
: a deep or grave tone : a low-pitched sound
1
2
: a coarse tough fiber from palms
Synonyms
Examples of bass in a Sentence
Adjective
the sound of the bass drum
a man with an impressive bass voice
Recent Examples on the Web
Lisa Kocay, Forbes, 19 Apr. 2023
But its predecessor, Volume 3 (featuring Smokeface), has more of a hip-hop feel with booming Trap-like sub-bass lines, some active high-hats mixed with synths, sax, flute, and head-nodding, funky, loping grooves.
—cleveland, 10 Jan. 2023
Nancy Kruh, Peoplemag, 23 Apr. 2024
Flanked by the money rhythm section of Sam Jones on bass and the mighty Philly Joe Jones on drums, Evans’ second LP as a leader gets its best upgrade yet.
—Ron Hart, SPIN, 17 Apr. 2024
Advertisement Despite being known for his bass duties in the biggest-selling band from Orange County, lately Kanal has shifted his musical focus to be not on stage but behind the screen as a TV and film composer.
—Daniel Kohn, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
The 14-song set features work from Cobb (acoustic guitar, eclectic guitar), J.T. Cure (bass), Paul Franklin (pedal steel), Derek Mixon (drums), Morgane (background vocals, synthesizer, tambourine) and Lee Pardini (organ, piano).
—Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 14 Apr. 2024
Peso performed backed by his seven-piece band — including an upright bass (also known as a tololoche), a requinto guitar, alto horns and charchetas — to an overwhelmingly large crowd of festival-goers, many of them touting their red, white and green flag.
—Thania Garcia, Variety, 13 Apr. 2024
Cyrus Sparhawk, his and Parker’s nineteen-year-old son, plays bass and writes much of the music.
—Justin Taylor, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2024
Even though Chris Squire’s thunderous bass is somewhat low in these mixes, Progeny offers illuminating insight into the touring routine of a band that, at that time, appeared to exist in a permanent state of grace.
—Ernesto Lechner, SPIN, 11 Apr. 2024
By day, Leighton teaches bass, lectures and directs the jazz ensemble at Cal State San Marcos.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Apr. 2024
Adjective
However, the genre—characterized by fast breakbeats with heavy bass and sub-bass lines, samples and synthesizers—fell out of style in North America.
—Lisa Kocay, Forbes, 19 Apr. 2023
But its predecessor, Volume 3 (featuring Smokeface), has more of a hip-hop feel with booming Trap-like sub-bass lines, some active high-hats mixed with synths, sax, flute, and head-nodding, funky, loping grooves.
—cleveland, 10 Jan. 2023
Noun
Just 17 years old at the time, McCreery wowed the show’s judges — and the tens of millions watching — with bass notes reminiscent of Turner’s (though McCreery long ago conceded that Turner has the lower range).
—Nancy Kruh, Peoplemag, 23 Apr. 2024
Flanked by the money rhythm section of Sam Jones on bass and the mighty Philly Joe Jones on drums, Evans’ second LP as a leader gets its best upgrade yet.
—Ron Hart, SPIN, 17 Apr. 2024
Advertisement Despite being known for his bass duties in the biggest-selling band from Orange County, lately Kanal has shifted his musical focus to be not on stage but behind the screen as a TV and film composer.
—Daniel Kohn, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
The 14-song set features work from Cobb (acoustic guitar, eclectic guitar), J.T. Cure (bass), Paul Franklin (pedal steel), Derek Mixon (drums), Morgane (background vocals, synthesizer, tambourine) and Lee Pardini (organ, piano).
—Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 14 Apr. 2024
Peso performed backed by his seven-piece band — including an upright bass (also known as a tololoche), a requinto guitar, alto horns and charchetas — to an overwhelmingly large crowd of festival-goers, many of them touting their red, white and green flag.
—Thania Garcia, Variety, 13 Apr. 2024
Cyrus Sparhawk, his and Parker’s nineteen-year-old son, plays bass and writes much of the music.
—Justin Taylor, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2024
Even though Chris Squire’s thunderous bass is somewhat low in these mixes, Progeny offers illuminating insight into the touring routine of a band that, at that time, appeared to exist in a permanent state of grace.
—Ernesto Lechner, SPIN, 11 Apr. 2024
By day, Leighton teaches bass, lectures and directs the jazz ensemble at Cal State San Marcos.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bass.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near bass
Cite this Entry
“Bass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bass. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bass
1 of 2 noun
plural bass or basses
: any of various spiny-finned freshwater or saltwater sport and food fishes
bass
2 of 2 noun1
a
: the lowest musical part in harmony for four parts compare alto sense 1b, soprano entry 2 sense 1, tenor sense 2a
b
: the lower half of a musical tone range compare treble
2
a
: the lowest male singing voice or a person who has this voice
b
: a person or instrument performing the bass part
bass
adjective
Etymology
Noun
Old English bærs "bass"
Noun
Middle English bas (adjective) "being or having a low solemn tone"
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