BASE jumping

noun

: the activity or sport of parachuting from a high structure (such as a building, tower, or bridge) or cliff
BASE jumper noun

Examples of BASE jumping in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Amid the apparent staffing shortages, some parkgoers have been BASE jumping at Yosemite during the shutdown, though the recreational sport is generally prohibited at national parks. Melina Khan, USA Today, 15 Oct. 2025 According to multiple reports and posts on social media, people have entered sections of the park without a permit, camped illegally and taken part in unpermitted BASE jumping as lawmakers' standoff over policy and funding enters its third week. Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025 But an unofficial online fatality list hosted on the site BASEaddict records just 527 total BASE jumping deaths around the world in the past 44 years. Owen Clarke, Outside, 13 Oct. 2025 That includes Tom Cruise, as covert CIA division agent Ethan Hunt, riding a motorcycle off a 4,000-foot cliff and BASE jumping the final 500 feet of a ravine, or the breathless climactic train mayhem in 2023’s Dead Reckoning, the opening installment of this two-parter. David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 May 2025 After two months of traveling and BASE jumping in Patagonia, these would be my first jumps back in British Columbia. Kade Krichko, Outside Online, 21 Feb. 2025 The unfinished towers have become a destination for graffiti artists and BASE jumping thrill-seekers eager to become part of the cultural zeitgeist that has unfolded on the street corner since late last month. Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC News, 15 Feb. 2024 Over seven years, three couples in the world of BASE jumping risk everything to feel alive. Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Feb. 2024 Along with rock climbing, Leavitt was also the first person reported to climb El Capitan in Yosemite and BASE jumping off the top in 1980. Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Nov. 2023

Word History

Etymology

building, antenna, span, earth

First Known Use

1981, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of BASE jumping was in 1981

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“BASE jumping.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/BASE%20jumping. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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