foundation

1 a public organization with a particular purpose or function donated to a foundation that supported cancer research Synonyms establishment, institution, instituteRelated Words body, collective, group; corporation, enterprise; charity, philanthropy; think tank

2 an immaterial thing upon which something else rests she had a good enough foundation in math to pursue an economics degree Synonyms basis, bedrock, bottom, cornerstone, footing, base, ground, groundwork, keystone, root, underpinning, warp, warp and woofRelated Words anchorage, bed, brace, bulwark, buttress, framework, infrastructure, mount, prop, shore, stay, substratum, substructure, support; assumption, justification, premise (also premiss), presumption, presupposition, rationale, supposition, theory, thesis, warrant; backbone, center, core, cornerstone, eye, focus, heart, hub, kernel, keystone, nucleus, seat; essence, quintessence, soul, touchstone