basement

noun

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base·ment | \ ˈbās-mənt

Definition of basement

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

5a : 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

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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 bacteria in the latest tests was found in the same places as in April: a CEO restroom and a former human resources break room in a basement, the DHHR said in a news release. — From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 16 Sep. 2021 This band started [as] just two producers in a basement in Glasgow doing all the tracks. — Megan Lubin, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2021 Other women were intercepted by Taliban soldiers and held in a parking garage to keep them from joining the protest, Ahmadi tweeted, while the Journal reported that several dozen protest leaders were detained in a bank basement. — Graison Dangor, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2021 The Weather Service in Baltimore warned that high winds could cause damage to houses and mobile homes, and asked residents in the southeastern part of the state to take cover in a basement or on the lowest available floor of a sturdy building. — BostonGlobe.com, 2 Sep. 2021 Officers throughout the city have been responding to 911 calls of people affected by the storm.@NYPDSpecialops Emergency Service Unit personnel just rescued a disabled man & his dog who were trapped in a basement with 3 feet of water. — Joelle Goldstein, PEOPLE.com, 2 Sep. 2021 New York City police officers rescued a disabled man and his dog who became trapped in a basement in three feet of water. — Fox News, 2 Sep. 2021 One person was killed Wednesday morning when fire ravaged a Buford home and caused the floor to collapse into a basement. — Chelsea Prince, ajc, 25 Aug. 2021 Scientists stranded outside the capital, including a female scientist holed up in a basement in the western city of Herat, say it’s too dangerous to travel to Kabul now. — Richard Stone, Science | AAAS, 20 Aug. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'basement.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.