Standard Lemma guide

basis

noun · 11 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • bāʹsĭs
  • General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /ˈbeɪ.sɪs/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian: /ˈbæɪ.sɪs/
  • rhymes with -eɪsɪs
  • CMU ARPABET: B EY1 S AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: B EY1 S IH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A physical base or foundation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • 1695, William Congreve, To the King, on the taking of Namur, 1810, Samuel Johnson, Alexander Chalmers (biographies), The Works of the English Poets from Chaucer to Cowper, Volume 10, page 271, Beholding rocks from their firm basis rent; Mountain on mountain thrown, With threatening hurl, that shook th' aerial firmament!

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A starting point, base or foundation for an argument or hypothesis.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

An underlying condition or circumstance.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Allow us to compete on an equal basis.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A regular frequency.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • You should brush your teeth on a daily basis at minimum.
  • The flights to Fiji leave on a weekly basis.
  • Cars must be checked on a yearly basis.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

The difference between the cash price a dealer pays to a farmer for his produce and an agreed reference price, which is usually the futures price at which the given crop is trading at a commodity exchange.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: agriculture, business, finance, lifestyle, trading

Examples

  • Included in the basis could be elevation, cleaning, freight by truck and/or rail, government inspection fees, administration fees, interest and storage charges as well as allowance for risk and profit for the grain dealer.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

In a vector space, a linearly independent set of vectors spanning the whole vector space.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: linear-algebra, mathematics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

Amount paid for an investment, including commissions and other expenses.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: accounting, business, finance

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

A collection of subsets ("basis elements") of a set, such that this collection covers the set, and for any two basis elements which both contain an element of the set, there is a third basis element contained in the intersection of the first two, which also contains that element.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: mathematics, sciences, topology

Examples

  • The collection of all possible unions of basis elements of a basis is said to be the topology generated by that basis.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

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

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the whole argument rested on a basis of conjecture

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: base, foundation, fundament, groundwork, cornerstone

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: assumption, supposition, supposal

Narrower terms: meat and potatoes

10

noun

Meaning 10

a relation that provides the foundation for something

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • they were on a friendly footing
  • he worked on an interim basis

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: footing, ground

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: foundation

Narrower terms: common ground

11

noun

Meaning 11

the most important or necessary part of something

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the basis of this drink is orange juice

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: base

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: part, portion, component part, component, constituent

History

Etymology

From Latin basis, from Ancient Greek βάσις (básis), from Proto-Indo-European *gwémtis, derived from Proto-Indo-European *gwem- (whence also come). Doublet of base.

Across languages

Translations

123 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: pohja — physical base or foundation
  • Finnish: perusta — physical base or foundation
  • Finnish: perustus — physical base or foundation
  • German: Fundament — physical base or foundation
  • Hebrew: בסיס (basís) — physical base or foundation
  • Hindi: नींव (nī̃v) — physical base or foundation
  • Hindi: आधार (ādhār) — physical base or foundation
  • Italian: fondamenta — physical base or foundation
  • Kabuverdianu: baze — physical base or foundation
  • Kabuverdianu: bazi — physical base or foundation
  • Kyrgyz: негиз (negiz) — physical base or foundation
  • Latin: fundāmen — physical base or foundation
  • Russian: основа́ние (osnovánije) — physical base or foundation
  • Russian: фунда́мент (fundáment) — physical base or foundation
  • Sanskrit: धरुण (dharuṇa) — physical base or foundation
  • Spanish: basa — physical base or foundation
  • Spanish: basamento — physical base or foundation
  • Spanish: basis — physical base or foundation
  • Turkish: temel — physical base or foundation
  • Azerbaijani: əsas — starting point for an argument
  • Belarusian: асно́ва (asnóva) — starting point for an argument
  • Bulgarian: и́зходен пункт (ízhoden punkt) — starting point for an argument
  • Dutch: basis — starting point for an argument
  • Finnish: lähtökohta — starting point for an argument
  • Finnish: peruste — starting point for an argument
  • French: base — starting point for an argument
  • German: Basis — starting point for an argument
  • German: Grundlage — starting point for an argument
  • Greek: βάση (vási) — starting point for an argument
  • Ancient Greek: βάσις (básis) — starting point for an argument
  • Hindi: आधार (ādhār) — starting point for an argument
  • Hungarian: alap — starting point for an argument
  • Italian: base — starting point for an argument
  • Japanese: 根拠 (konkyo) — starting point for an argument
  • Kabuverdianu: baze — starting point for an argument
  • Kabuverdianu: bazi — starting point for an argument
  • Korean: 바탕 (batang) — starting point for an argument
  • Persian: اساس (asâs) — starting point for an argument
  • Polish: podstawa — starting point for an argument
  • Portuguese: base — starting point for an argument
  • Portuguese: fundamento — starting point for an argument
  • Romanian: bază — starting point for an argument
  • Russian: осно́ва (osnóva) — starting point for an argument
  • Russian: основа́ние (osnovánije) — starting point for an argument
  • Russian: фунда́мент (fundáment) — starting point for an argument
  • Spanish: basa — starting point for an argument
  • Spanish: fuste — starting point for an argument
  • Spanish: basamento — starting point for an argument
  • Spanish: basis — starting point for an argument
  • Swedish: grund — starting point for an argument
  • Swedish: basis — starting point for an argument
  • Tagalog: batayan — starting point for an argument
  • Turkish: temel — starting point for an argument
  • Turkish: dayanak — starting point for an argument
  • Turkish: asıl — starting point for an argument
  • Ottoman Turkish: تمل (temel) — starting point for an argument
  • Ukrainian: осно́ва (osnóva) — starting point for an argument
  • Arabic: قَاعِدَة (qāʕida) — underlying condition
  • Arabic: أَسَاس (ʔasās) — underlying condition
  • Azerbaijani: əsas — underlying condition
  • Bulgarian: ба́за (báza) — underlying condition
  • Bulgarian: осно́ва (osnóva) — underlying condition
  • Catalan: base — underlying condition
  • Chinese Mandarin: 基礎 /基础 (jīchǔ) — underlying condition
  • Dutch: basis — underlying condition
  • Finnish: peruste — underlying condition
  • French: base — underlying condition
  • German: Basis — underlying condition
  • German: Grundlage — underlying condition
  • Hindi: आधार (ādhār) — underlying condition
  • Hungarian: alap — underlying condition
  • Italian: base — underlying condition
  • Japanese: 基礎 (kiso) — underlying condition
  • Kabuverdianu: bazi — underlying condition
  • Kabuverdianu: baze — underlying condition
  • Korean: 밑바탕 (mitbatang) — underlying condition
  • Korean: 기초 (gicho) — underlying condition
  • Portuguese: fundamento — underlying condition
  • Romanian: bază — underlying condition
  • Russian: ба́за (báza) — underlying condition
  • Russian: осно́ва (osnóva) — underlying condition
  • Russian: ба́зис (bázis) — underlying condition
  • Tagalog: batayan — underlying condition
  • Tocharian B: ścmoñña — underlying condition
  • Turkish: temel — underlying condition
  • Ottoman Turkish: تمل (temel) — underlying condition
  • Ukrainian: ба́за (báza) — underlying condition
  • Ukrainian: баз́ис (baźys) — underlying condition
  • Ukrainian: осно́ва (osnóva) — underlying condition
  • Vietnamese: cơ sở — underlying condition
  • Finnish: -ttain — regular frequency
  • Finnish: joka — regular frequency
  • Polish: co — regular frequency
  • Spanish: manera — regular frequency
  • Finnish: basis — agriculture: difference between cash price and futures price
  • Armenian: բազիս (bazis) — linearly independent, spanning set of vectors
  • Basque: oinarri — linearly independent, spanning set of vectors
  • Chinese Mandarin: 基 (jī) — linearly independent, spanning set of vectors
  • Danish: basis — linearly independent, spanning set of vectors
  • Dutch: basis — linearly independent, spanning set of vectors
  • Estonian: baas — linearly independent, spanning set of vectors
  • Finnish: kanta — linearly independent, spanning set of vectors
  • French: base — linearly independent, spanning set of vectors
  • German: Basis — linearly independent, spanning set of vectors
  • Hungarian: bázis — linearly independent, spanning set of vectors
  • Italian: base — linearly independent, spanning set of vectors
  • Japanese: 基底 (kitei) — linearly independent, spanning set of vectors
  • Polish: baza — linearly independent, spanning set of vectors
  • Portuguese: base — linearly independent, spanning set of vectors
  • Romanian: bază — linearly independent, spanning set of vectors
  • Russian: ба́зис (bázis) — linearly independent, spanning set of vectors
  • Spanish: base — linearly independent, spanning set of vectors
  • Swedish: bas — linearly independent, spanning set of vectors
  • Turkish: temel — linearly independent, spanning set of vectors
  • Turkish: taban — linearly independent, spanning set of vectors
  • Ukrainian: баз́ис (baźys) — linearly independent, spanning set of vectors
  • Finnish: hankintameno — accounting: amount paid for an investment
  • Italian: cifra — accounting: amount paid for an investment
  • Italian: ammontare — accounting: amount paid for an investment
  • Italian: cifra base — accounting: amount paid for an investment
  • Italian: ammontare base — accounting: amount paid for an investment
  • Korean: 밑천 (mitcheon) — accounting: amount paid for an investment
  • Finnish: kanta — topology: collection of subsets
Real reading context

basis in complete knowledge articles