bases

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of base.

   The company built supply bases at several points along the coast.

   The two columns rest on identical stone bases.

   Note

   One of two plurals that share this spelling. Here it belongs to base and ends in a short syllable, /ˈbeɪsɪz/, rhyming with faces. The plural of basis ends in a long "eez" sound, /ˈbeɪsiːz/. In writing, only context tells them apart. Military bases and the stone bases of columns are this word. When both could fit, as with the grounds of an argument, pronunciation settles which is meant.

2. 2
   BAY-seez/ˈbeɪsiːz/

   noun

   Plural of basis.

   The committee evaluated the proposals on independent bases.

   These conclusions stand on firmer empirical bases than the earlier ones.

   Note

   A Latin plural carried into English intact. Basis came in together with its own plural, basēs, so the -is ending becomes -es. It is said with a long final vowel, /ˈbeɪsiːz/. It suits abstract grounds, such as firm empirical bases or independent bases. In mathematics, a vector space can have many bases, each one a linearly independent set of vectors that spans the whole space.

3. 3
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of base.

   The author bases the novel on real historical events.

   The committee bases its funding on measured outcomes.

   Note

   The verb form used with he, she, it or a singular noun as its subject: the author bases, the committee bases. It nearly always pairs with on or upon to name the foundation, as in "bases the novel on real events." It is spelled like the noun plural, but its position gives it away: it follows a subject and takes an object. The slang sense, short for freebase, inflects the same way.

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