Base

How to spell base

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce base

What does base mean?

1. nounThe lowest part or supporting structure on which something rests.
2. nounThe main element or starting point from which something is developed.
3. nounA place serving as a centre of operations for an organisation or military force.
4. verbTo use something as the foundation or starting point for a decision or idea.
5. adjectiveLacking moral worth; mean or contemptible.

Base in a sentence

• noun

  The statue stood on a wide marble base.

• noun

  The sauce uses tomato as its base.

• noun

  The soldiers returned to base before nightfall.

• verb

  Managers should base their decisions on reliable data.

• adjective

  His base motives became clear once the money disappeared.

• noun

  A crack appeared near the base of the wall.

Where does base come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin basis, meaning 'foundation' or 'pedestal', which Latin had itself borrowed from the Greek basis, literally 'a stepping' or 'that on which one stands', from the verb bainein 'to step or go'. English took it up through Old French during the 1300s, first in the architectural sense of the lowest supporting part of a column or structure, then spreading outward to mean any foundation, starting point, or main ingredient. The same Greek root for stepping survives in words like 'basis' and 'basement', which can help fix the single 's' spelling in mind. The adjective 'base', meaning low or contemptible, has a separate but related thread, coming through Old French bas 'low' from a Late Latin bassus 'thick, low'. Because 'base' sounds exactly like the musical 'bass', the spelling trap is choosing the right one, and remembering that the foundation word shares its s with basis is the reliable clue.

How the word is built

• base (from Latin basis: foundation, pedestal)

Words that sound like base

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• bass: The lowest range of musical pitch, or an instrument or voice producing it.