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
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
Boston HeraldExamples 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
What complicated matters, according to these notes, was that Falcon hid in the attic instead of the basement, where he'd been told to hide.
—EW.com, 15 July 2025
The floor smelled ripe, the smell of classrooms and basements, which came back to him with another pulse of childhood excitement.
—Clare Sestanovich, New Yorker, 13 July 2025
The trio went downstairs and sat on the floor in the basement.
—Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 13 July 2025
If your Wi-Fi’s struggling to reach that back bedroom or basement, the TP-Link RE715X is here to save the day.
—PC Magazine, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for basement
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EW.com, 15 July 2025
The floor smelled ripe, the smell of classrooms and basements, which came back to him with another pulse of childhood excitement.
—Clare Sestanovich, New Yorker, 13 July 2025
The trio went downstairs and sat on the floor in the basement.
—Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 13 July 2025
If your Wi-Fi’s struggling to reach that back bedroom or basement, the TP-Link RE715X is here to save the day.
—PC Magazine, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for basement
Cite this Entry
“Basement.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/basement. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
basement
noun
base·ment
ˈbās-mənt 
: the part of a building that is entirely or partly below ground level
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