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
Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 10 May 2024
Either way, this is what the lurking bass has been waiting for, and a ferocious strike is likely imminent if bass are in the area.
—Shaye Baker, Field & Stream, 9 May 2024
He’s made his own mind-expanding New York connections, playing with Cuban pianist Axel Tosca and Puerto Rican bass maestro John Benitez, whose music has been steeped in kindred rhythms defined by clave, the fundamental Afro-Cuban rhythmic pattern.
—Andrew Gilbert, The Mercury News, 7 May 2024
Assigning different colors to things like drums, bass, vocals, and guitar helps keep things tidy, and the eye-catching contrast of the neon-color donuts and widgets against the black background makes LP easy to keep track of in any environment.
—Pete Cottell, WIRED, 2 May 2024
In these waters, striped bass can only be fished between April 1 and Nov. 30.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 3 May 2024
Enclosed in levees, the shallow forebay is filled with nonnative striped bass and other predators, which feed on juvenile salmon, steelhead trout and other native fish.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2024
Martin says anglers fishing unfamiliar waters can’t get caught up in the idea that all the bass are doing exactly the same thing.
—Will Brantley, Field & Stream, 2 May 2024
Additionally, with the dual 25-watt woofers and dual passive radiators, the Xtreme 3 delivers impressive bass depth without distortion, even at high volumes.
—Shubham Yewale, PCMAG, 1 May 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
Anglers try their luck landing rainbow trout, bass, walleye, northern pike and more.
—Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 10 May 2024
Either way, this is what the lurking bass has been waiting for, and a ferocious strike is likely imminent if bass are in the area.
—Shaye Baker, Field & Stream, 9 May 2024
He’s made his own mind-expanding New York connections, playing with Cuban pianist Axel Tosca and Puerto Rican bass maestro John Benitez, whose music has been steeped in kindred rhythms defined by clave, the fundamental Afro-Cuban rhythmic pattern.
—Andrew Gilbert, The Mercury News, 7 May 2024
Assigning different colors to things like drums, bass, vocals, and guitar helps keep things tidy, and the eye-catching contrast of the neon-color donuts and widgets against the black background makes LP easy to keep track of in any environment.
—Pete Cottell, WIRED, 2 May 2024
In these waters, striped bass can only be fished between April 1 and Nov. 30.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 3 May 2024
Enclosed in levees, the shallow forebay is filled with nonnative striped bass and other predators, which feed on juvenile salmon, steelhead trout and other native fish.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2024
Martin says anglers fishing unfamiliar waters can’t get caught up in the idea that all the bass are doing exactly the same thing.
—Will Brantley, Field & Stream, 2 May 2024
Additionally, with the dual 25-watt woofers and dual passive radiators, the Xtreme 3 delivers impressive bass depth without distortion, even at high volumes.
—Shubham Yewale, PCMAG, 1 May 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 20 May. 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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