base

Less common meanings

11. 11
    loyal votersnouncountable or uncountable

    The voters who can be counted on to back one party's candidates in nearly every election.

    The candidate energized his base with a fiery speech.

    Losing the support of its base cost the party the election.

    UsageCommon verbs: energize, mobilize, rally the base; fuller forms are political base and electoral base.

    Similarconstituency, following

    Note

    Campaigns talk about the base as their home ground: the loyal core of voters, as distinct from swing voters. A candidate typically secures the base first and then reaches for the undecided. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Securing the base before reaching out to undecided voters is an established campaign strategy. ndi.org
12. 12
    safe spotnouncountable or uncountable

    A designated safe zone in children's games such as tag and hide-and-seek, where a player cannot be caught.

    The old oak tree was base, and whoever touched it first couldn't be tagged.

    Playing hide-and-seek, he stuck close to base all afternoon, darting out only when it looked safe.

    UsageUsed with no article: run to base, reach base.

    Similarhome, den

13. 13
    opposite of acidnouncountable or uncountable

    Any of a class of substances that react with acids to neutralize them, forming salts; in modern terms, a substance that accepts hydrogen ions (protons). Those that dissolve in water turn red litmus paper blue.

    The chemist added a base to neutralize the acidic solution.

    Strong bases like sodium hydroxide can burn the skin.

    UsageDescribed as strong or weak: a strong base such as sodium hydroxide.

    Similaralkali

    Oppositeacid

    Note

    The chemist's partner to acid: when the two react, they yield a salt, and red litmus turning blue is the classroom test for which one is present. Do not confuse it with the base of DNA, which is a building block of a nucleic acid rather than a class of reagents. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • An acid and a base react to produce a salt. chem.libretexts.org
    • Red litmus turning blue indicates a base. www2.chem.wisc.edu
    • DNA bases are chemical building blocks of a nucleic acid. genome.gov
14. 14
    shamefuladjective

    Morally low and contemptible; showing dishonorable or cowardly character.

    Abandoning the wounded was seen as a base and cowardly choice.

    She refused to stoop to such base behavior for money.

    UsageSet phrases: base instincts, base motives, base ingratitude.

    Similardespicable, contemptible, vile, low, ignoble

    Oppositenoble, honorable, virtuous

    Note

    Here lowness has become a judgment of character. Ralph Robynson's 1551 translation of More's Utopia pairs it with cowardice: "a base and a cowardish mind." The phrase "base ingratitude" runs from Milton in 1637 to Baroness Orczy in 1904. In 2012, Pig Destroyer applies it to emotions in a song, where the word leans toward primitive rather than wicked.

15. 15
    nouncountable or uncountable

    The side of a polygon, or the face of a solid such as a cone or pyramid, from which its height is measured.

    To find a triangle's area, multiply the base by the height and divide by two.

    A cone standing on its base is far harder to topple than one on its tip.

    Note

    Height in geometry is measured from here. The base is the side or face taken as the reference, and the altitude is the perpendicular drawn to it, which is why area formulas read "base times height." The choice is a convention: any side of a triangle can serve as its base, though the side drawn lowest usually does. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • The base is the reference side or face from which height is measured. mathnasium.com
    • The altitude is perpendicular to the chosen base. mathopenref.com
    • Any side of a triangle can serve as its base. mathopenref.com
16. 16
    makeup creamnouncountable or uncountable

    A cosmetic cream applied to make the face appear uniform in tone.

    The makeup artist blended a creamy base across the model's skin.

    She chose a base that matched her complexion.

    UsageYou choose a base to match your skin, then blend it in; foundation is the same thing.

    Similarfoundation

    Note

    Makeup borrows the builder's metaphor twice over: base and foundation name the same cream. It forms an early layer, one that evens out skin tone so that later products sit on a uniform surface. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • The cosmetic term 'base' evokes a supporting structural layer; this is a semantic inference from its structural and cosmetic senses. en.wiktionary.org
    • The cosmetic term 'foundation' parallels the supporting base of a building. lorealparisusa.com
    • In the specified cosmetic sense, 'base' means foundation cream. en.wiktionary.org
    • Foundation provides an early, even layer for subsequent makeup. lorealparisusa.com
17. 17
    common metaladjective

    Of metal, not precious, such as copper or lead; of coins, made of or mixed with such cheap metal.

    Counterfeiters often plate base metals with a thin layer of gold.

    The alloy combined a noble metal with several base ones.

    UsageMostly in base metal or base metals, set against gold and silver.

    Oppositeprecious, noble

    Note

    It names the ordinary metals, the ones set against gold and the other precious or noble metals. This is the "low" word, from Late Latin bassus, by a different route from the base that means a foundation. It also describes coins or metal mixed with cheaper metals. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Base metals are ordinary, nonprecious or nonnoble metals. en.wiktionary.org
    • This adjective derives from Late Latin bassus, meaning low. en.wiktionary.org
    • Base also describes coins or metal alloyed with cheaper metals. en.wiktionary.org
18. 18
    number to powernouncountable or uncountable

    The number that is raised to the power of an exponent.

    In the expression 5³, five is the base and three is the exponent.

    Logarithms can use different numbers as their base.

    UsageWith logarithms, say to base: the log to base 2 of 8 is 3.

    Note

    In a power, this is the number doing the multiplying. In 5³ it is the five, written full size, with the exponent raised beside it. The same phrase can also describe how a number is written; that is the numeral-system sense. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The base is the repeated factor in the illustrated power, and 5 is the base in 5³. courseware.cemc.uwaterloo.ca
    • The exponent is written raised beside the full-size base. en.wikipedia.org
19. 19
    DNA unitnouncountable or uncountable

    The nucleobase component of a nucleotide as it occurs within a DNA or RNA polymer.

    Adenine is the base that normally pairs with thymine in DNA.

    A single change to one base can alter the protein a gene produces.

    Note

    These are the letters of the genetic code: adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine and, in RNA, uracil. Bases on opposite strands pair by hydrogen bonding, adenine with thymine, which is why biologists speak of base pairs. A single altered base can change the protein a gene makes. The name is chemical: these molecules are weak examples of the acid-neutralizing compound. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

    • The principal bases are adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine in DNA, with uracil replacing thymine in RNA. openstax.org
    • Bases on opposite DNA strands pair through hydrogen bonding, including adenine with thymine. genome.gov
    • A single altered base can change the protein encoded by a gene. cancer.gov
    • A nucleobase is a component of a DNA or RNA polymer. openstax.org
    • Nucleobases are weak chemical bases; being components of polymers does not exclude their acid–base properties. ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk
20. 20
    word rootnouncountable or uncountable

    A morpheme, or group of morphemes, that provides the foundation to which affixes are attached.

    The base 'form' takes both a prefix and a suffix in 'reformation.'

    Adding affixes to a single base can yield dozens of related words.

    Similarroot, stem

    Note

    Morphologists use base for whatever an affix attaches to at a given step, and that is not always the root. A root is bare, but a base may already carry affixes. In reformation, re- attaches to form, and -ation then attaches to the larger base reform. The distinction matters when tracing how a word was built, layer by layer. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • A base is the form to which an affix attaches; it need not be a root and may already contain affixes. pracownik.kul.pl
    • A root contains no affixes. sfu.ca
    • Reformation can be analysed in layers as re- + form, followed by reform + -ation. en.wiktionary.org
21. 21
    counting systemnouncountable or uncountable

    The number of distinct digits, including zero, used to represent numbers in a positional numeral system; a radix.

    Hexadecimal uses a base of sixteen, with letters standing in for ten through fifteen.

    Converting a number from one base to another is a routine exercise.

    UsageMostly in base + number: written in base two; counting in base ten.

    Similarradix

    Note

    This sense is about place value. In a numeral written in base b, each place is worth b times the place to its right. Base ten counts ones, tens and hundreds, while base sixteen runs out of digits and borrows letters for ten through fifteen. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • The sense concerns place value, with each successive place to the left worth b times as much in base b. faculty.winthrop.edu
    • Base ten has ones, tens and hundreds places. cs.longwood.edu
    • Standard hexadecimal notation uses letters for the values ten through fifteen. en.wikipedia.org
22. 22
    bottom person (stunts)nouncountable or uncountable

    In hand-to-hand balancing, the performer who stays in contact with the ground and supports the flyer.

    As the base, he braced his arms to hold the flyer overhead.

    The whole routine fails if the base loses her footing.

    Note

    Partner acrobatics names its roles by position: the base stays on the ground and the flyer goes up. Because the base bears the flyer's weight and provides the platform for lifts, throws and balances, a routine is only as secure as the base's footing. Cheerleading uses the same pair of terms, and the role has a verb of its own. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • In hand-to-hand balancing, the base remains in contact with the ground and supports the flyer. en.wiktionary.org
    • The base supports the flyer's weight and supplies support for lifts, throws and balances; the base's stability matters to the routine's security. fedec.eu
    • Cheerleading also uses the terms base and flyer. cheerunion.org
    • Base is also a verb meaning to support the flyer. en.wiktionary.org
23. 23
    verbintransitive

    To act as the base, supporting and lifting the flyer in an acrobatic routine.

    She learned to base before she was ever allowed to fly.

    Spotters watch closely whenever beginners base for the first time.

    UsageWorks with or without an object: base for a team, base a flyer.

    Note

    John T. Warren and Laura B. Lengel's Casting Gender (2005) describes a performer who would "base a flyer in a double balance." Its counterpart is fly, so a beginner may learn to base before ever flying. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Casting Gender is associated with John T. Warren and Laura B. Lengel; they edited the volume. en.wiktionary.org
    • Casting Gender was first published in 2005. openlibrary.org
    • The book describes a performer using the quoted wording. en.wiktionary.org
24. 24
    cocainenounslanguncountable

    Freebase cocaine; the smokable, alkaloidal form of the drug.

    Police seized several grams of base during the late-night raid.

    By the late eighties, base had spread through the whole neighborhood.

    UsageUsed with no article: selling base, smoking base.

    Note

    In a 2019 Vera script by Paul Matthew Thompson, it sits in a dealer's inventory: "base, white, meth, weed." The 2025 song "The Birds Don't Sing" plays it against the idiom, rhyming a father who, as the idiom has it, was prepared for everything with a discovery of the drug at home. Outside such contexts, the word is easily misread.

25. 25
    landing pathnouncountable or uncountableabbreviationellipsis

    In aviation, short for base leg: the part of a landing circuit flown at right angles to the runway, just before the turn onto final approach.

    After the downwind leg, the aircraft turned onto base.

    A gust on base pushed the plane wide of the centerline.

    UsageUsually used with no article after on, onto, or turning: on base, turning base.

    Note

    Pilots fly a landing pattern in named segments. Base is the one flown off the approach end of the runway and at right angles to it, just before the turn onto final approach. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • A landing traffic pattern consists of named segments used by pilots. faa.gov
    • The base leg lies off the runway's approach end and runs at right angles to the runway. faa.gov
    • The base leg immediately precedes the turn onto final approach. faa.gov
26. 26
    transistor partnouncountable or uncountable

    The controlling terminal of a bipolar junction transistor.

    A tiny current into the base controls a much larger current between collector and emitter.

    Biasing the base correctly keeps the transistor in its active region.

    Note

    A bipolar transistor has three terminals: emitter, base and collector. The base is the thin, lightly doped region in the middle. A small current through it governs a much larger current between collector and emitter, and that is the device's amplifying action. Engineers speak of biasing the base and of the base–emitter junction. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

    • A bipolar transistor has three terminals: emitter, base and collector. toshiba.semicon-storage.com
    • The base is the thin, lightly doped middle region. tf.uni-kiel.de
    • Conventional base current flows into an NPN transistor's base but out of a PNP transistor's base. toshiba.semicon-storage.com
    • A small base current controls a larger collector–emitter current, providing amplification. toshiba.semicon-storage.com
    • Base biasing and the base–emitter junction are established engineering concepts. toshiba.semicon-storage.com
27. 27
    adjectivearchaic

    Low in physical place or position; situated near the bottom.

    I see thy glory like a shooting star / Fall to the base earth from the firmament.

    c. 1595, William Shakespeare, Richard II
28. 28
    noun

    A chemical that fixes dye to fabric so the color holds.
29. 29
    noun

    In a coat of arms, the bottom third of the shield, or a band of color filling that lower area.
30. 30
    noun

    In topology, a collection of open sets such that every open set of the space is a union of members of the collection.
31. 31
    noun

    The space that a covering space, fiber bundle, or fibration projects down onto.
32. 32
    noun

    In group theory, a list of points such that only the identity element of a permutation group leaves all of them fixed at once.
33. 33
    noundated

    An older spelling of bass, the lowest male singing voice or the lowest part in a piece of music.

    The trebles squeak for fear, the bases roar.

    1709, J[ohn] Dryden, J[ohn] Oldham
34. 34
    noun

    A very small cannon, the lightest kind once used.
35. 35
    nounarchaic

    A decorative cloth covering laid over a horse.
36. 36
    noun

    A skirt of rich fabric such as velvet, hanging from the waist to the knee or below, worn in the 1500s.
37. 37
    noun

    Armor for the hips and thighs, made of mail or metal plates in the shape of the cloth garment of the same name.
38. 38
    nounobsolete

    The bottom portion of a gown or underskirt.
39. 39
    nounobsolete

    A cloth worn over the front of the body to protect the clothes.

    bakers in their linen bases

    1613, John Marston, The Insatiate Countess
40. 40
    noun

    In surveying, a line measured with great precision that serves as the starting reference for locating other points through a network of triangles.
41. 41
    noun

    In Marxist theory, the economic system of production, including its forces and the ties between workers and owners, on which the rest of society rests.
42. 42
    verbslang

    To smoke cocaine in its freebase form.
43. 43
    adjectiveobsolete

    Not tall, having little height.

    The cedar stoops not to the base shrub's foot.

    1594, William Shakespeare, The Rape of Lucrece
44. 44
    adjectiveobsolete

    Having little worth, or being of a low level or grade.

    If thou livest in paine and sorrow, thy base courage is the cause of it, To die there wanteth but will.

    1603, Michel de Montaigne, The Essayes
45. 45
    adjectivearchaic

    Of humble birth or low rank in society, belonging to the common people.

    a peasant and base swain

    1623, Francis Bacon, De Augmentis Scientiarum
46. 46
    adjectivearchaic

    Poor in quality and of little worth.

    'Like this horrible film.' 'Horrible?' Lenina was genuinely astonished. 'But I thought it was lovely.' 'It was base,' he said indignantly, 'it was ignoble.'

    1932, Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
47. 47
    adjectiveobsolete

    Born to parents who were not married to each other.

    Why bastard? Wherefore base?

    c. 1605, William Shakespeare, King Lear
48. 48
    adjective

    Of a language, departing from the correct or classical form.
49. 49
    adjectiveobsolete

    An old spelling of bass, meaning deep or low in pitch.
50. 50
    adjective

    Of feudal landholding, granted in return for humble labor, such as a villein's, that was thought unfit for nobles.
51. 51
    nounUS

    A children's chasing game, also called prisoner's base, in which caught players are held as captives.

    to run the country base

    1611, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”
52. 52
    noun

    Lowercase spelling of BASE, as in base jumping: parachuting from a building, antenna, bridge span, or cliff.