# basket

Pronunciation: US say "BAS-kit" /ˈbæskɪt/; UK say "BAHS-kit" /ˈbɑːskɪt/; AUS say "BAHS-kuht" /ˈbaːskət/

## Noun

1. A lightweight container, typically round, open at the top and tapering toward the base.
   - Simple: A light container, usually round, open at the top and narrower at the bottom.
   - _He carried a wicker basket of fresh bread to the market._
   - _The baskets were stacked neatly along the edge of the farm stall._
2. In basketball, the circular hoop with a suspended net that serves as the goal players aim the ball through.
   - Simple: In basketball, the metal ring with a net that players try to throw the ball through.
   - _The forward leaped and sent the ball cleanly through the basket._
   - _Defenders crowded the area beneath the basket to block shots._
3. In an online shop, the listing of items a customer has selected before placing the order.
   - Simple: On a shopping website, the list of items you have picked but not yet paid for.
   - _He left two items in his basket overnight and forgot to check out._
   - _Adding the jacket to her basket, she went looking for matching shoes._
4. A container of wire or plastic, shaped like a basket, in which a shopper carries goods around a store before paying for them.
   - Simple: A wire or plastic container shaped like a basket, used to carry things you want to buy in a store.
   - _She picked up a basket at the door and filled it with vegetables._
   - _Stacks of plastic baskets stood just inside the supermarket entrance._
5. In basketball, the act of sending the ball through the hoop to score points.
   - Simple: In basketball, the act of getting the ball through the hoop to score points.
   - _A three-point basket tied the score with seconds remaining._
   - _She sank a long basket from well beyond the arc._
6. A collection or set of intangible things considered together as a group.
   - Simple: A group of related things you cannot touch, thought of together as one set.
   - _The new policy addresses a basket of social concerns at once._
   - _Economists watch a basket of indicators to judge the economy's health._
7. The team sport of basketball.
   - Simple: The team sport of basketball, played by shooting a ball through a raised hoop.
   - _A few of us are going to play some basket after work if you want to join._
   - _Basket is hugely popular across many countries._
8. Short for basket of goods. — Short for basket of goods
   - Simple: Short for basket of goods. Used in economics to mean a fixed group of products whose prices are tracked over time.
   - _Analysts revised the basket to reflect changing consumer habits._
   - _Rising fuel costs pushed up the overall value of the basket._
10. A cozy bed for a cat, typically shaped like a small open container.
   - Simple: A soft, basket-shaped bed where a cat sleeps.
   - _The cat refused to sleep anywhere except its favorite basket._
   - _She lined the basket with a warm blanket for the old tabby._
11. In hot-air ballooning, the wicker gondola suspended beneath the balloon, in which the pilot and passengers ride.
   - Simple: In a hot-air balloon, the open container hanging below where the pilot and riders stand.
   - _She gripped the rim of the basket as the wind picked up._
   - _Six passengers crowded into the basket for the dawn flight._
12. Slang for the bulge made by a man's penis as seen through tight clothing. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A slang word for the visible bulge of a man's penis under tight clothes.
   - _His swimsuit left his basket clearly outlined._
   - _The model's tight jeans accentuated his basket._
13. Slang for the penis together with the surrounding genital area. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A slang word for a man's penis and the area around it.
   - _The cup protected his basket during the match._
   - _He winced as the tight seam pressed against his basket._
14. A milder, more polite substitute for 'bastard,' used as a term of abuse or annoyance. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A mild word used in place of 'bastard' when scolding or insulting someone.
   - _The old basket never returned my ladder._
   - _Some basket keyed my car overnight._
15. A line-dance figure in which the men hold the women's lower backs while the women grip the men's shoulders, and the group of four spins until the women's feet leave the ground.
   - Simple: A line-dancing move where four dancers link arms and spin until the women's feet lift off the floor.
   - _The instructor warned that the basket only works smoothly with exactly four dancers._
   - _They built up speed until the basket swept both women off their feet._
16. The cone-shaped drogue trailing on a hose that a receiving aircraft's probe plugs into during probe-and-drogue aerial refueling.
   - Simple: The funnel-shaped target at the end of a fuel hose that a plane connects to during mid-air refueling.
   - _The tanker streamed its basket, and the fighter slid forward to engage it._
   - _Turbulence whipped the basket aside just as the probe approached._
18. The bell- or vase-shaped body of a Corinthian capital, the part enclosed by the column's carved acanthus foliage.
   - Simple: The bell-shaped core of a Corinthian column's top, around which the carved leaves are set.
   - _The acanthus leaves spring from the basket and curl outward beneath the abacus._
   - _Weathering had worn the basket of each capital nearly smooth._

## Verb

9. To place something in a basket or baskets.
   - Simple: To put something into a basket or baskets.
   - _The pickers basket each peach by hand to prevent bruising._
   - _He basketed the laundry and carried it upstairs._
17. To cross-link the royalty advances of several works so the creator receives no further payment until all of them reach a set level of success.
   - Simple: To combine the money owed for several works so the creator earns nothing until all of them do well.
   - _Publishers sometimes basket an author's trilogy, withholding earnings until the whole series recoups its advances._
   - _The contract let the studio basket her three scores together._

## Noun

19. The guard protecting the hand on a sword or singlestick: the woven or plated covering that shields the fingers on a bladed weapon. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: The metal guard that covers and protects the hand holding a sword.
   - _The old saber's steel basket had rusted but still shielded the grip._
   - _A fencer's hand stayed safe inside the cupped basket of the hilt._
20. A singlestick fitted with a basket hilt, used as a practice or fencing weapon. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A fighting stick fitted with a basket-shaped guard over the hand.
   - _The cadets squared off with baskets in the training yard._
   - _He chose a heavier basket for the bout._
21. On a stagecoach, the pair of outside seats set facing each other and exposed to the weather. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: On an old horse-drawn coach, the two outside seats that face each other.
   - _Passengers without means crowded into the basket while the wealthy rode inside._
   - _Rain soaked everyone seated in the basket on the long road north._

## Origin

Basket comes from Middle English basket, from Anglo-Norman baschet (also bascat), whose ultimate origin is obscure. One theory links it to Late Latin bascauda ("kettle, table-vessel") and a Proto-Celtic root *baskis ("bundle, load"), but this is now widely doubted for phonetic reasons, and the word is often seen as a substrate borrowing.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/basket (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).