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morally low; without estimable personal qualities; dishonorable; meanspirited; selfish; cowardly.
of little or no value; worthless:
hastily composed of base materials.
debased or counterfeit:
an attempt to eliminate the base coinage.
characteristic of or befitting an inferior person or thing.
of illegitimate birth.
not cl-ssical or refined:
base language.
old english law. held by tenure less than freehold in return for a service viewed as somewhat demeaning to the tenant.
archaic.

of humble origin or station.
of small height.
low in place, position, or degree:
base servitude.

obsolete. deep or grave in sound; b-ss:
the base tones of a piano.
music obsolete, b-ss1 (defs 3, 4).
historical examples

mute and astonished the world saw her baseness—wondering at her greatness and her sin.
what germany thinks thomas f. a. smith

he has all the n-bleness of that temper, but also all its baseness.
ariadne florentina john ruskin

would i dare, she asked me, to offer at a palliation of my baseness?
clarissa, volume 6 (of 9) samuel richardson

what was this but a baseness, of which no honest man could be capable?
rosin the beau laura elizabeth howe richards

did any corresponding transformation in her own heart bear witness to the baseness of her love?
john marchmont’s legacy, volumes i-iii mary e. braddon

it is no mark of baseness to be unfortunate; “but these must endure,” what zeus lays upon them.
homer’s odyssey denton j. snider

christianity took a different view of the matter—it exalted the spirit, and emphasised the baseness of the material.
rudolph eucken abel j. jones

i reposed my heart upon thine honour, and have found its baseness.
the vicar of wakefield oliver goldsmith

one instance of baseness and ingrat-tude, among the many, i will relate.
early western travels, 1748-1846, volume xii william faux

it is no baseness for the greatest to descend and looke into their owne estate.
the life of william ewart gladstone, vol. 1 (of 3) john morley

noun
the bottom or supporting part of anything
the fundamental or underlying principle or part, as of an idea, system, or organization; basis

a centre of operations, organization, or supply: the climbers made a base at 8000 feet
(as modifier): base camp

a centre from which military activities are coordinated
anything from which a process, as of measurement, action, or thought, is or may be begun; starting point: the new discovery became the base for further research
the main ingredient of a mixture: to use rice as a base in cookery
a chemical compound that combines with an acid to form a salt and water. a solution of a base in water turns litmus paper blue, produces hydroxyl ions, and has a ph greater than 7. bases are metal oxides or hydroxides or amines see also lewis base
(biochem) any of the nitrogen-containing const-tuents of nucleic acids: adenine, thymine (in dna), uracil (in rna), guanine, or cytosine
a medium such as oil or water in which the pigment is dispersed in paints, inks, etc; vehicle
the inorganic material on which the dye is absorbed in lake pigments; carrier
(biology)

the part of an organ nearest to its point of attachment
the point of attachment of an organ or part

the bottommost layer or part of anything
(architect)

the lowest division of a building or structure
the lower part of a column or pier

another word for baseline (sense 2)
the lower side or face of a geometric construction
(maths)

the number of distinct single-digit numbers in a counting system, and so the number represented as 10 in a place-value system: the binary system has two digits, 0 and 1, and 10 to base two represents 2 see place-value
(of a logarithm or exponential) the number whose powers are expressed: since 1000 = 10³, the logarithm of 1000 to base 10 is 3
(of a mathematical structure) a substructure from which the given system can be generated
the initial instance from which a generalization is proven by mathematical induction

(logic, maths) also called base clause. the initial element of a recursive definition, that defines the first element of the infinite sequence generated thereby
(linguistics)

a root or stem
see base component

(electronics) the region in a transistor between the emitter and collector
(photog) the gl-ss, paper, or cellulose-ester film that supports the sensitized emulsion with which it is coated
(heraldry) the lower part of the shield
(jewellery) the quality factor used in pricing natural pearls
a starting or finishing point in any of various games
(baseball) any of the four corners of the diamond, which runners have to reach in order to score
the main source of a certain commodity or element: a customer base, their fan base
(us & canadian, informal) get to first base, to accomplish the first stage in a project or a series of objectives
(us & canadian, informal) off base, wrong or badly mistaken
touch base, to make contact
verb
(transitive foll by on or upon) to use as a basis (for); found (on): your criticisms are based on ignorance
often foll by at or in. to station, post, or place (a person or oneself)
adjective
devoid of honour or morality; ign-ble; contemptible
of inferior quality or value
debased; alloyed; counterfeit: base currency
(english history)

(of land tenure) held by villein or other ign-ble service
holding land by villein or other ign-ble service

(archaic) born of humble parents; plebeian
(archaic) illegitimate
adjective, noun
(music) an obsolete spelling of b-ss1
noun

see base number
n.

1550s, from base (adj.) + -ness.
n.

“bottom, foundation, pedestal,” early 14c., from old french bas “depth” (12c.), from latin basis “foundation,” from greek basis “step, pedestal,” from bainein “to step” (see come). the military sense is from 1860. the chemical sense (1810) was introduced in french 1754 by french chemist guillaume-françois rouelle (1703-1770). sporting sense of “starting point” ia from 1690s, also “destination of a runner” (1812). as a “safe” spot in a tag-like game, suggested from mid-15c. (as the name of the game later called prisoner’s base).
adj.

late 14c., “low, of little height,” from old french bas “low, lowly, mean,” from late latin b-ssus “thick, stumpy, low” (used only as a cognomen in cl-ssical latin, humilis being there the usual word for “low in stature or position”), possibly from oscan, or celtic, or related to greek b-sson, comparative of bathys “deep.” figurative sense of “low in the moral scale” is first attested 1530s in english, earlier “servile” (1520s). base metals (c.1600) were worthless in contrast to n-ble or precious metals.
v.

“to place on a foundation,” 1841, from base (n.). related: based; basing.

base (bās)
n.

the part of an organ nearest its point of attachment.

a fundamental ingredient; a chief const-tuent of a mixture.

any of a large cl-ss of compounds, including the hydroxides and oxides of metals, having a bitter taste, a slippery solution, the capacity to turn litmus blue, and to react with acids to form salts.

a molecular or ionic substance capable of combining with a proton to form a new substance. also called brønsted base.

a nitrogen-containing organic compound that combines in such a manner.

a substance that provides a pair of electrons for a covalent bond with an acid.

base
(bās)

chemistry

any of a cl-ss of compounds that form hydroxyl ions (oh) when dissolved in water, and whose aqueous solutions react with acids to form salts. bases turn red litmus paper blue and have a ph greater than 7. their aqueous solutions have a bitter taste. compare acid.

see nitrogen base.

the side or face of a geometric figure to which an alt-tude is or is thought to be drawn. the base can be, but is not always, the bottom part of the figure.

the number that is raised to various powers to generate the princ-p-l counting units of a number system. the base of the decimal system, for example, is 10.

the number that is raised to a particular power in a given mathematical expression. in the expression an, a is the base.

mathematics

the side or face of a geometric figure to which an alt-tude is or is thought to be drawn. the base can be, but is not always, the bottom part of the figure.

the number that is raised to various powers to generate the princ-p-l counting units of a number system. the base of the decimal system, for example, is 10.

the number that is raised to a particular power in a given mathematical expression. in the expression an, a is the base.

any of a number of bitter-tasting, caustic materials. technically, a material that produces negative ions in solution. a base is the opposite of an acid and has a ph of 7 to 14. a given amount of a base added to the same amount of an acid neutralizes the acid; water and a salt are produced. alkalis are bases; ammonia is a common base.

related terms

get to first base, off base, off one’s base, touch base with someone
see:

get to first base
off base
touch base