basement

noun

base·​ment ˈbās-mənt 

1

: the part of a building that is wholly or partly below ground level

2

: the ground floor facade or interior in Renaissance architecture

3

: the lowest or fundamental part of something

specifically : the rocks underlying stratified rocks

4

chiefly New England : a toilet or washroom especially in a school

5

a

: a low state, rank, or condition

With their stock in the basement and red ink all over their balance sheet, many struggling [companies] are finding that fund-raising has become an exceedingly difficult proposition.

—Brad Stone

b

: the lowest place in the standings : cellar sense 2

Last year, the Phillies finished in the basement of the NL East with 68 wins, tied with the Cubs for the fewest wins in the league.

—Boston Herald

basementless

ˈbās-mənt-ləs 

adjective

Synonyms of basement

• cellar

Examples of basement in a Sentence

we store our bicycles in the basement during the winter

the basement of the outdoor fountain needs a lot of restoration work

Recent Examples on the Web

The Dakota and Ojibwe language archive that leaders feared was lost in a Minneapolis fire survived, and it is being moved to the basement vault of an old bank building. — Eric Henderson, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026

Last week, investigators began dismantling portions of the property, tearing into walls and floors while removing large pieces of evidence, including laboratory equipment and containers from the basement. — ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026

Over a decade before Weapons’s Aunt Gladys (Amazon Prime and HBO Max) was luring kids to the basement, Sinister’s monster was enticing them to do far worse. — Eve Batey, Vanity Fair, 16 Oct. 2026

For him, the house’s value lay in its proximity to the sea, and in its basement – essentially a garage, with good lighting and an inspection pit – which connected to the coast road along a short steep concrete ramp. — Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

base entry 1 or base entry 2 + -ment, probably after Italian basamento

First Known Use

1730, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing basement

• bargain basement
• basement membrane
• finished basement/attic
• sub-basement

Rhymes for basement

• abasement
• debasement
• defacement
• displacement
• effacement
• emplacement
• encasement
• misplacement
• outplacement
• replacement
• placement

Kids Definition

basement

noun

base·​ment ˈbās-mənt 

: the part of a building that is entirely or partly below ground level