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English Dictionary: base by the DICT Development Group
8 results for base
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
base
adj
  1. serving as or forming a base; "the painter applied a base coat followed by two finishing coats"
    Synonym(s): basal, base
  2. of low birth or station (`base' is archaic in this sense); "baseborn wretches with dirty faces"; "of humble (or lowly) birth"
    Synonym(s): base, baseborn, humble, lowly
  3. (used of metals) consisting of or alloyed with inferior metal; "base coins of aluminum"; "a base metal"
  4. not adhering to ethical or moral principles; "base and unpatriotic motives"; "a base, degrading way of life"; "cheating is dishonorable"; "they considered colonialism immoral"; "unethical practices in handling public funds"
    Synonym(s): base, immoral
  5. having or showing an ignoble lack of honor or morality; "that liberal obedience without which your army would be a base rabble"- Edmund Burke; "taking a mean advantage"; "chok'd with ambition of the meaner sort"- Shakespeare; "something essentially vulgar and meanspirited in politics"
    Synonym(s): base, mean, meanspirited
  6. illegitimate
    Synonym(s): base, baseborn
  7. debased; not genuine; "an attempt to eliminate the base coinage"
n
  1. installation from which a military force initiates operations; "the attack wiped out our forward bases"
    Synonym(s): base, base of operations
  2. lowest support of a structure; "it was built on a base of solid rock"; "he stood at the foot of the tower"
    Synonym(s): foundation, base, fundament, foot, groundwork, substructure, understructure
  3. a place that the runner must touch before scoring; "he scrambled to get back to the bag"
    Synonym(s): base, bag
  4. the bottom or lowest part; "the base of the mountain"
  5. (anatomy) the part of an organ nearest its point of attachment; "the base of the skull"
  6. a lower limit; "the government established a wage floor"
    Synonym(s): floor, base
  7. the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained; "the whole argument rested on a basis of conjecture"
    Synonym(s): basis, base, foundation, fundament, groundwork, cornerstone
  8. a support or foundation; "the base of the lamp"
    Synonym(s): base, pedestal, stand
  9. a phosphoric ester of a nucleoside; the basic structural unit of nucleic acids (DNA or RNA)
    Synonym(s): nucleotide, base
  10. any of various water-soluble compounds capable of turning litmus blue and reacting with an acid to form a salt and water; "bases include oxides and hydroxides of metals and ammonia"
    Synonym(s): base, alkali
  11. the bottom side of a geometric figure from which the altitude can be constructed; "the base of the triangle"
  12. the most important or necessary part of something; "the basis of this drink is orange juice"
    Synonym(s): basis, base
  13. (numeration system) the positive integer that is equivalent to one in the next higher counting place; "10 is the radix of the decimal system"
    Synonym(s): base, radix
  14. the place where you are stationed and from which missions start and end
    Synonym(s): base, home
  15. a terrorist network intensely opposed to the United States that dispenses money and logistical support and training to a wide variety of radical Islamic terrorist groups; has cells in more than 50 countries
    Synonym(s): al-Qaeda, Qaeda, al-Qa'ida, al-Qaida, Base
  16. (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed; "thematic vowels are part of the stem"
    Synonym(s): root, root word, base, stem, theme, radical
  17. the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area; "the industrial base of Japan"
    Synonym(s): infrastructure, base
  18. the principal ingredient of a mixture; "glycerinated gelatin is used as a base for many ointments"; "he told the painter that he wanted a yellow base with just a hint of green"; "everything she cooked seemed to have rice as the base"
  19. a flat bottom on which something is intended to sit; "a tub should sit on its own base"
  20. (electronics) the part of a transistor that separates the emitter from the collector
v
  1. use as a basis for; found on; "base a claim on some observation"
    Synonym(s): establish, base, ground, found
  2. situate as a center of operations; "we will base this project in the new lab"
  3. use (purified cocaine) by burning it and inhaling the fumes
    Synonym(s): free-base, base
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
   Base \Base\ (b[amac]s), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Based} (b[amac]sd);
      p. pr. & vb. n. {Basing}.] [From {Base}, n.]
      To put on a base or basis; to lay the foundation of; to
      found, as an argument or conclusion; -- used with on or upon.
      --Bacon.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
   Base \Base\, v. t. [See {Base}, a., and cf. {Abase}.]
      1. To abase; to let, or cast, down; to lower. [Obs.]
  
                     If any . . . based his pike.               --Sir T.
                                                                              North.
  
      2. To reduce the value of; to debase. [Obs.]
  
                     Metals which we can not base.            --Bacon.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
   Bass \Bass\, n. [F. basse, fr. bas low. See {Base}, a.]
      1. A bass, or deep, sound or tone.
  
      2. (Mus.)
            (a) The lowest part in a musical composition.
            (b) One who sings, or the instrument which plays, bass.
                  [Written also {base}.]
  
      {Thorough bass}. See {Thorough bass}.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
   Base \Base\ (b[amac]s), a. [OE. bass, F. bas, low, fr. LL.
      bassus thick, fat, short, humble; cf. L. Bassus, a proper
      name, and W. bas shallow. Cf. {Bass} a part in music.]
      1. Of little, or less than the usual, height; of low growth;
            as, base shrubs. [Archaic] --Shak.
  
      2. Low in place or position. [Obs.] --Shak.
  
      3. Of humble birth; or low degree; lowly; mean. [Archaic]
            [bd]A pleasant and base swain.[b8] --Bacon.
  
      4. Illegitimate by birth; bastard. [Archaic]
  
                     Why bastard? wherefore base?               --Shak.
  
      5. Of little comparative value, as metal inferior to gold and
            silver, the precious metals.
  
      6. Alloyed with inferior metal; debased; as, base coin; base
            bullion.
  
      7. Morally low. Hence: Low-minded; unworthy; without dignity
            of sentiment; ignoble; mean; illiberal; menial; as, a base
            fellow; base motives; base occupations. [bd]A cruel act of
            a base and a cowardish mind.[b8] --Robynson (More's
            Utopia). [bd]Base ingratitude.[b8] --Milton.
  
      8. Not classical or correct. [bd]Base Latin.[b8] --Fuller.
  
      9. Deep or grave in sound; as, the base tone of a violin. [In
            this sense, commonly written {bass.}]
  
      10. (Law) Not held by honorable service; as, a base estate,
            one held by services not honorable; held by villenage.
            Such a tenure is called base, or low, and the tenant, a
            base tenant.
  
      {Base fee}, formerly, an estate held at the will of the lord;
            now, a qualified fee. See note under {Fee}, n., 4.
  
      {Base metal}. See under {Metal}.
  
      Syn: Dishonorable; worthless; ignoble; low-minded; infamous;
               sordid; degraded.
  
      Usage: {Base}, {Vile}, {Mean}. These words, as expressing
                  moral qualities, are here arranged in the order of
                  their strength, the strongest being placed first. Base
                  marks a high degree of moral turpitude; vile and mean
                  denote, in different degrees, the want of what is
                  valuable or worthy of esteem. What is base excites our
                  abhorrence; what is vile provokes our disgust or
                  indignation; what is mean awakens contempt. Base is
                  opposed to high-minded; vile, to noble; mean, to
                  liberal or generous. Ingratitude is base; sycophancy
                  is vile; undue compliances are mean.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
   Base \Base\, n. [F. base, L. basis, fr. Gr. [?] a stepping step,
      a base, pedestal, fr. [?] to go, step, akin to E. come. Cf.
      {Basis}, and see {Come}.]
      1. The bottom of anything, considered as its support, or that
            on which something rests for support; the foundation; as,
            the base of a statue. [bd]The base of mighty
            mountains.[b8] --Prescott.
  
      2. Fig.: The fundamental or essential part of a thing; the
            essential principle; a groundwork.
  
      3. (Arch.)
            (a) The lower part of a wall, pier, or column, when
                  treated as a separate feature, usually in projection,
                  or especially ornamented.
            (b) The lower part of a complete architectural design, as
                  of a monument; also, the lower part of any elaborate
                  piece of furniture or decoration.
  
      4. (Bot.) That extremity of a leaf, fruit, etc., at which it
            is attached to its support.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
   Ground \Ground\ (ground), n. [OE. ground, grund, AS. grund; akin
      to D. grond, OS., G., Sw., & Dan. grund, Icel. grunnr bottom,
      Goth. grundus (in composition); perh. orig. meaning, dust,
      gravel, and if so perh. akin to E. grind.]
      1. The surface of the earth; the outer crust of the globe, or
            some indefinite portion of it.
  
                     There was not a man to till the ground. --Gen. ii.
                                                                              5.
  
                     The fire ran along upon the ground.   --Ex. ix. 23.
            Hence: A floor or pavement supposed to rest upon the
            earth.
  
      2. Any definite portion of the earth's surface; region;
            territory; country. Hence: A territory appropriated to, or
            resorted to, for a particular purpose; the field or place
            of action; as, a hunting or fishing ground; a play ground.
  
                     From . . . old Euphrates, to the brook that parts
                     Egypt from Syrian ground.                  --Milton.
  
      3. Land; estate; possession; field; esp. (pl.), the gardens,
            lawns, fields, etc., belonging to a homestead; as, the
            grounds of the estate are well kept.
  
                     Thy next design is on thy neighbor's grounds.
                                                                              --Dryden. 4.
  
      4. The basis on which anything rests; foundation. Hence: The
            foundation of knowledge, belief, or conviction; a premise,
            reason, or datum; ultimate or first principle; cause of
            existence or occurrence; originating force or agency; as,
            the ground of my hope.
  
      5. (Paint. & Decorative Art)
            (a) That surface upon which the figures of a composition
                  are set, and which relieves them by its plainness,
                  being either of one tint or of tints but slightly
                  contrasted with one another; as, crimson Bowers on a
                  white ground. See {Background}, {Foreground}, and
                  {Middle-ground}.
            (b) In sculpture, a flat surface upon which figures are
                  raised in relief.
            (c) In point lace, the net of small meshes upon which the
                  embroidered pattern is applied; as, Brussels ground.
                  See {Brussels lace}, under {Brussels}.
  
      6. (Etching) A gummy composition spread over the surface of a
            metal to be etched, to prevent the acid from eating except
            where an opening is made by the needle.
  
      7. (Arch.) One of the pieces of wood, flush with the
            plastering, to which moldings, etc., are attached; --
            usually in the plural.
  
      Note: Grounds are usually put up first and the plastering
               floated flush with them.
  
      8. (Mus.)
            (a) A composition in which the bass, consisting of a few
                  bars of independent notes, is continually repeated to
                  a varying melody.
            (b) The tune on which descants are raised; the plain song.
                  --Moore (Encyc.).
  
                           On that ground I'll build a holy descant.
                                                                              --Shak.
  
      9. (Elec.) A conducting connection with the earth, whereby
            the earth is made part of an electrical circuit.
  
      10. pl. Sediment at the bottom of liquors or liquids; dregs;
            lees; feces; as, coffee grounds.
  
      11. The pit of a theater. [Obs.] --B. Jonson.
  
      {Ground angling}, angling with a weighted line without a
            float.
  
      {Ground annual} (Scots Law), an estate created in land by a
            vassal who instead of selling his land outright reserves
            an annual ground rent, which becomes a perpetual charge
            upon the land.
  
      {Ground ash}. (Bot.) See {Groutweed}.
  
      {Ground bailiff} (Mining), a superintendent of mines.
            --Simmonds.
  
      {Ground bait}, bits of bread, boiled barley or worms, etc.,
            thrown into the water to collect the fish, --Wallon.
  
      {Ground bass} [or] {base} (Mus.), fundamental base; a
            fundamental base continually repeated to a varied melody.
           
  
      {Ground beetle} (Zo[94]l.), one of numerous species of
            carnivorous beetles of the family {Carabid[91]}, living
            mostly in burrows or under stones, etc.
  
      {Ground chamber}, a room on the ground floor.
  
      {Ground cherry}. (Bot.)
            (a) A genus ({Physalis}) of herbaceous plants having an
                  inflated calyx for a seed pod: esp., the strawberry
                  tomato ({P. Alkekengi}). See {Alkekengl}.
            (b) A European shrub ({Prunus Cham[91]cerasus}), with
                  small, very acid fruit.
  
      {Ground cuckoo}. (Zo[94]l.) See {Chaparral cock}.
  
      {Ground cypress}. (Bot.) See {Lavender cotton}.
  
      {Ground dove} (Zo[94]l.), one of several small American
            pigeons of the genus {Columbigallina}, esp. {C. passerina}
            of the Southern United States, Mexico, etc. They live
            chiefly on the ground.
  
      {Ground fish} (Zo[94]l.), any fish which constantly lives on
            the botton of the sea, as the sole, turbot, halibut.
  
      {Ground floor}, the floor of a house most nearly on a level
            with the ground; -- called also in America, but not in
            England, the {first floor}.
  
      {Ground form} (Gram.), the stem or basis of a word, to which
            the other parts are added in declension or conjugation. It
            is sometimes, but not always, the same as the root.

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (15Feb98) [foldoc]:
   base
  
      {radix}.
  
  
No guarantee of accuracy or completeness!
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