basement

American  

[bays-muhnt] / ˈbeɪs mənt /

noun

• basements
  plural

1. a story of a building, partly or wholly underground.

2. (in classical and Renaissance architecture) the portion of a building beneath the principal story, treated as a single compositional unit.

3. the lowermost portion of a structure.

4. the substructure of a columnar or arched construction.

---

basement British  

/ ˈbeɪsmənt /

noun

1. 1. a partly or wholly underground storey of a building, esp the one immediately below the main floor Compare cellar

   2. ( as modifier )

      a basement flat

2. the foundation or substructure of a wall or building

3. 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

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• basements
  plural

Etymology

Origin of basement

First recorded in 1720–30; base ¹ + -ment

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

See Examples For:

basement basements

Mysteriously, he gets the job, though it turns out to be at the very bottom of the ladder — as a copy boy confined to the basement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

They followed me into the basement, but I managed to slip into the elevator.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Meanwhile, just weeks before, the sump pump in my basement was working overtime in the teeth of torrential rains.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Several residents told AFP, meanwhile, that international schools were taking precautions, with at least one facility sending children into a basement for safety.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

Somehow, in the many hours Dad spent in the basement, between the phone calls and the job searching and the studying, he found time to plan an entirely new life for us.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Larger homes, attics, basements, garages and spare bedrooms reduce the urgency to make choices.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

In cellars and basements across the city, African-Americans hosted parties where white and black New Yorkers regularly shared the dance floor, imbibed together and sometimes got into fisticuffs that prompted the intervention of neighborhood watchmen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

It ushered in a new kind of fun that was fresher, busier and airier than past listservs and chatrooms, the dank basements of internet interaction.

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026

The metro is too far from her home and there are no decent shelters or basements nearby.

From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026

My current tally of links stands at 4,326,718, stored in warehouses, silos, basements, and attics around town.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

Related Words

• cellar
• storage
• vault