baseline

American  

[beys-lahyn] / ˈbeɪsˌlaɪn /

noun

1. Baseball. the area between bases base bases basis within which a base runner must keep when running from one base bases to another.

2. Tennis. the line at each end of a tennis court, parallel to the net, that marks the in-bounds limit of play.

3. (in perspective drawing) a horizontal line in the immediate foreground formed by the intersection of the ground plane and the picture plane.

4. a basic standard or level; guideline.

   to establish a baseline for future studies.

5. a specific value or values that can serve as a comparison or control.

6. Typography. the imaginary line on which the bottoms of primary letters align.

7. Surveying. triangulation1

8. Electronics. a horizontal or vertical line formed on the face of a cathode-ray tube by the sweep of the scanning dot.

9. Naval Architecture. a line on the body plan or sheer plan of a hull, representing a horizontal reference plane for vertical dimensions.

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adjective

1. basic or essential.

baseline British  

/ ˈbeɪsˌlaɪn /

noun

1. surveying a measured line through a survey area from which triangulations are made

2. an imaginary line, standard of value, etc, by which things are measured or compared

3. a line at each end of a tennis court that marks the limit of play

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Etymology

Origin of baseline

First recorded in 1740–50; base ¹ + line ¹

Example Sentences

For just $1.30 a cup, it sets the baseline for Hanoi coffee—and makes the $7 lattes I regularly buy back home feel criminal.

From The Wall Street Journal

The stakes are heightened by the looming transition: Powell’s term as chair ends in May, making whatever the committee lays out this week the baseline his successor stands to inherit.

From The Wall Street Journal

For flatulence, however, there is no widely accepted baseline.

From Science Daily

A MacBook Air, where the software excelled, is definitely the baseline system for people who want to recruit AI assistants.

From The Wall Street Journal

But today’s data do provide a baseline—and not a bad one at that—from which to track the impact of the oil shock.

From Barron's

Related Words

• control
• criterion
• guideline
• measure
• standard