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a container made of twigs, rushes, thin strips of wood, or other flexible material woven together.
a container made of pieces of thin veneer, used for packing berries, vegetables, etc.
the amount contained in a basket; a basketful:
to pick a basket of apples.
anything like a basket in shape or use:
He never empties my wastepaper basket.
any group of things or different things grouped as a unit; a package; package deal:
You can’t buy the single stock; you have to take the basket—all companies, stocks and bonds.
the car or gondola suspended beneath a balloon, as for carrying passengers or scientific instruments into the atmosphere.
Basketball.

an open net suspended from a metal rim attached to the backboard and through which the ball must pass in order for a player to score points.
a score, counting two for a field goal and one for a free throw.

Also called snow ring. Skiing. a ring strapped to the base of a ski pole to limit penetration of the pole in the snow.
Slang: Vulgar. the male genitals, especially when outlined by a tight-fitting garment.
Contemporary Examples

Put mushrooms in strainer basket and put the basket into the Thermomix with the mirepoix in the bottom.
The Gadget Chef: Reconstructed Chicken Soup Megan McArdle November 1, 2012

My uncle taught me how to shoot a basket and throw a football.
34 Years Later, Gunshots Still Echo From a Senseless Killing Michael Daly March 10, 2013

So it is that Romanticism is a basket of ideas, many of them contradictory.
What Is Romanticism? Jimmy So September 24, 2011

Essentially, the problem was too much dunking and basket interference, which was allowed then.
Secret History of the First Dunk Evin Demirel February 14, 2014

The man tried to explain that the basket was a gift for her from some organization.
Behind the Gert Boyle Kidnap Attempt Winston Ross November 26, 2010

Historical Examples

“Then I’ll pick out the ripest in the basket for you,” said Irene, her voice trembling.
A Modern Tomboy L. T. Meade

They returned home just as it was growing dark, laden with basket and portmanteau.
Rico and Wiseli Johanna Spyri

She removed the basket from her arm and set it on the table.
Jerry Jean Webster

Who is it that has taken the fruit from the basket of your uncle the canon?
The Boy Life of Napoleon Eugenie Foa

“I don’t steal,” said Willy, setting the basket on another stair.
Little Grandfather Sophie May

noun
a container made of interwoven strips of pliable materials, such as cane, straw, thin wood, or plastic, and often carried by means of a handle or handles
Also called basketful. the amount a basket will hold
something resembling such a container in appearance or function, such as the structure suspended from a balloon
(basketball)

an open horizontal metal hoop fixed to the backboard, through which a player must throw the ball to score points
a point or points scored in this way

a group or collection of similar of related things: a basket of currencies
(informal) a euphemism for (offensive) bastard (sense 1), bastard (sense 2)
the list of items an internet shopper chooses to buy at one time from a website: add these items to your basket
n.

early 13c., from Anglo-French bascat, origin obscure despite much speculation. On one theory from Latin bascauda “kettle, table-vessel,” said by the Roman poet Martial to be from Celtic British and perhaps cognate with Latin fascis “bundle, faggot,” in which case it probably originally meant “wicker basket.” But OED frowns on this, and there is no evidence of such a word in Celtic unless later words in Irish and Welsh, counted as borrowings from English, are original.

noun

The pit of the stomach; breadbasket: a blow flush in the basket (late 1800s+)
The male genitals, esp when prominently displayed in tight pants: the yogis had baskets (1940s+ Homosexuals)

There are five different Hebrew words so rendered in the Authorized Version: (1.) A basket (Heb. sal, a twig or osier) for holding bread (Gen. 40:16; Ex. 29:3, 23; Lev. 8:2, 26, 31; Num. 6:15, 17, 19). Sometimes baskets were made of twigs peeled; their manufacture was a recognized trade among the Hebrews. (2.) That used (Heb. salsilloth’) in gathering grapes (Jer. 6:9). (3.) That in which the first fruits of the harvest were presented, Heb. tene, (Deut. 26:2, 4). It was also used for household purposes. In form it tapered downwards like that called _corbis_ by the Romans. (4.) A basket (Heb. kelub) having a lid, resembling a bird-cage. It was made of leaves or rushes. The name is also applied to fruit-baskets (Amos 8:1, 2). (5.) A basket (Heb. dud) for carrying figs (Jer. 24:2), also clay to the brick-yard (R.V., Ps. 81:6), and bulky articles (2 Kings 10:7). This word is also rendered in the Authorized Version “kettle” (1 Sam. 2:14), “caldron” (2 Chr. 35:13), “seething-pot” (Job 41:20). In the New Testament mention is made of the basket (Gr. kophinos, small “wicker-basket”) for the “fragments” in the miracle recorded Mark 6:43, and in that recorded Matt. 15:37 (Gr. spuris, large “rope-basket”); also of the basket in which Paul escaped (Acts 9:25, Gr. spuris; 2 Cor. 11: 33, Gr. sargane, “basket of plaited cords”).

In addition to the idiom beginning with basket