basement
Americannoun
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a story of a building, partly or wholly underground.
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(in classical and Renaissance architecture) the portion of a building beneath the principal story, treated as a single compositional unit.
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the lowermost portion of a structure.
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the substructure of a columnar or arched construction.
noun
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a partly or wholly underground storey of a building, esp the one immediately below the main floor Compare cellar
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( as modifier )
a basement flat
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the foundation or substructure of a wall or building
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geology a part of the earth's crust formed of hard igneous or metamorphic rock that lies beneath the cover of soft sedimentary rock, sediment, and soil
Etymology
Origin of basement
Explanation
A basement is a room that's below ground level, underneath the first floor. You might have a laundry room with a washer and dryer in your basement. Some basements are partially under the level of the street, while others are completely below ground. Many, though not all, houses and larger buildings have basements. Some basements are "finished," with carpeting and solid ceilings and walls, but more often they're very basic rooms used for storage. The word dates from 1730, most likely from the Italian basamento, "column base."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After he discovers a wall in the store’s basement serves as a portal to the creepy rooms and he tells her about them, she follows him in.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
A large basement space has been outfitted with several beds, while an upstairs room features bunk beds.
From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026
We visit their control room in the basement of a building.
From BBC • May 21, 2026
When he discovers an otherworldly portal through the wall of his basement office, he enlists his younger employees to help him explore the strange rooms with a rope tied around their waist, à la “Poltergeist.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026
So now the two boys were crouched beside a wall safe in Chip’s basement.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
