basin

American  

[bay-suhn] / ˈbeɪ sən /

noun

• basins
  plural

1. a circular container with a greater width than depth, becoming smaller toward the bottom, used chiefly to hold water or other liquid, especially for washing.

2. any container of similar shape, as the pan of a balance.

3. the quantity held by such a container.

   We need another basin of water to dilute the mixture.

4. a natural or artificial hollow place containing water.

5. a partially enclosed, sheltered area along a shore, often partly man-made or dredged to a greater depth, where boats may be moored.

   a yacht basin.

6. Geology. an area in which the strata dip from the margins toward a common center.

7. Physical Geography.

   1. a hollow or depression in the earth's surface, wholly or partly surrounded by higher land.

      river basin.

   2. drainage basin.

8. Botany. the depression in an apple, pear, or other pome at the end opposite the stem.

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basin British  

/ ˈbeɪsən /

noun

1. a round container open and wide at the top with sides sloping inwards towards the bottom or base, esp one in which liquids are mixed or stored

2. Also called: basinful. the amount a basin will hold

3. a washbasin or sink

4. any partially enclosed or sheltered area where vessels may be moored or docked

5. the catchment area of a particular river and its tributaries or of a lake or sea

6. a depression in the earth's surface

7. geology a part of the earth's surface consisting of rock strata that slope down to a common centre

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basin Scientific  

/ bā′sĭn /

1. A region drained by a river and its tributaries.

2. A low-lying area on the Earth's surface in which thick layers of sediment have accumulated. Some basins are bowl-shaped while others are elongate. Basins form through tectonic processes, especially in fault-bordered intermontane areas or in areas where the Earth's crust has warped downwards. They are often a source of valuable oil.

3. An artificially enclosed area of a river or harbor designed so that the water level remains unaffected by tidal changes.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subbasin
  noun
• basinal
  adjective
• basined
  adjective
• basinlike
  adjective
• interbasin
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• basins
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of basin

1175–1225; Middle English bacin < Old French < Late Latin bac ( c ) īnum ( bacc ( a ) water vessel, back ³ + -īnum -ine ¹ ); perhaps further related in Latin to beaker

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Explanation

A basin is a container that holds water and is used for washing, but you probably just call it your bathroom sink. You can think of basinas something shaped like a bowl. If you're going for an old-fashioned ring, say "wash basin." If you’re in England, you might use a basin for cooking. The word basin also has various geological senses, particularly a depression in the ground or ocean floor. A basin is also the spot where a river drains — like the famed Mississippi River Basin. That’s one big bowl!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

basin basins

The 40 million residents of the Colorado River basin and nonresident beneficiaries of its water supply, including most Californians, will have to do more with less as global warming causes more and deeper droughts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

Its journey began on an ancient lakebed inside Jezero Crater and continued through the remains of a river system that once carried water and sediment into the basin.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 21, 2026

The fountain has been used as a memorial site for those killed, with pictures, flowers and messages laid around the basin wall.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

The trading firm formerly known as Gunvor is poised to become a major player in the Haynesville basin with $1.5 billion deal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Coming back in, he took the gloves off before he poured water from a pitcher into a basin, then added a pouch of dried plants to it.

From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce

Its goal, he said, is to drill up to 20 wells a year, with about half of those targeting new basins with the potential to become major new developments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

Gulf Coast refineries benefit from lower-cost crude coming from Texas oil basins such as the Permian and Eagle Ford.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026

"It was interesting to see that some of the same signatures that we observe in modern oil and gas basins are also there and preserved in 2-billion-year-old samples."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

Over the last several years, work crews there have been restoring natural floodplains along rivers and creeks, building recharge basins, and routing floodwater to farm fields where it can soak into the land.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026

It was an ugly little building without a front door, set in a landscape of distant, gray-brown mountains and flat, white-gray basins.

From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty

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Related Words

• bowl
• lagoon
• pan
• pool
• pot
• tub
• valley
• watershed

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