base

use as a basis for; found on

• “base a claim on some observation”

use (purified cocaine) by burning it and inhaling the fumes

assign to a station

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”

installation from which a military force initiates operations

• “the attack wiped out our forward bases”

lowest support of a structure

• “it was built on a base of solid rock”
• “he stood at the foot of the tower”

place that runner must touch before scoring

• “he scrambled to get back to the bag”

(numeration system) the positive integer that is equivalent to one in the next higher counting place

• “10 is the radix of the decimal system”

the bottom or lowest part

• “the base of the mountain”

(anatomy) the part of an organ nearest its point of attachment

• “the base of the skull”

a lower limit

• “the government established a wage floor”

the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained

• “the whole argument rested on a basis of conjecture”

a support or foundation

• “the base of the lamp”

the bottom side of a geometric figure from which the altitude can be constructed

• “the base of the triangle”

the most important or necessary part of something

• “the basis of this drink is orange juice”

the place where you are stationed and from which missions start and end

an intensely anti-western terrorist network that dispenses money and logistical support and training to a wide variety of radical Islamic terrorist group; has cells in more than 50 countries

(linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed

• “thematic vowels are part of the stem”

the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area

• “the industrial base of Japan”

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”

a flat bottom on which something is intended to sit

• “a tub should sit on its own base”

(electronics) the part of a transistor that separates the emitter from the collector

serving as or forming a base

• “the painter applied a base coat followed by two finishing coats”

(used of metals) consisting of or alloyed with inferior metal

• “base coins of aluminum”
• “a base metal”

of low birth or station (`base'' is archaic in this sense)

• “baseborn wretches with dirty faces”
• “of humble (or lowly) birth”

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”

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”
• “- Shakespeare;”

illegitimate

debased; not genuine

• “an attempt to eliminate the base coinage”