Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

basis

/ˈbeɪ.sɪs/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.81 in modern English

Syllables: ba-sis
IPA: /ˈbeɪ.sɪs/

7

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A physical base or foundation.

noun

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

noun

An underlying condition or circumstance.

noun

A regular frequency.

noun

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.

noun

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

noun

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

noun

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.

Example Sentences

"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!"
"We see here the ground-plan of masses of houses, with their upper walls of fire-baked brick on a basis of stone."
"I wonder if the South Korean side has any basis that its smog is from China."
"Allow us to compete on an equal basis."
"Hodgson may now have to bring in James Milner on the left and, on that basis, a certain amount of gloss was taken off a night on which Welbeck scored twice but barely celebrated either before leaving the pitch angrily complaining to the Slovakian referee."
"You should brush your teeth on a daily basis at minimum."

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.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: *gʷem-, basis, βάσις, *gʷémtis

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈbeɪ.sɪs/
British English: /ˈbeɪ.sɪs/

Inflected Forms

bases (plural) baseis (plural, rare) basises (nonstandard, plural)

Derived Forms

basic basiswise eigenbasis subbasis

Phrases

accrual basis basis point basis spline basis vector Bernstein basis polynomial cash basis cost basis fare basis

Synonyms

base foundation fundament groundwork cornerstone footing ground

Rhymes With

homeostasis glacis oasis stasis crasis chronostasis aminostasis

Questions

How do you pronounce basis?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈbeɪ.sɪs/.
What does basis mean?: A physical base or foundation.
Where does basis come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce basis

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “basis”.
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