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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
Appeared in the August 14, 2025, print edition as 'This Family Couldn’t Be Prouder Of the Adult Living in the Basement'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Aug. 13, 2025
Imagine the possibilities if someone were to give us this Carrie Bradshaw — the ultimate era edition, who isn’t waiting for Country Lurch or trying to be swept away by Basement Heathcliff.
From Salon • Jul. 13, 2025
The BBC said it was "transferring ownership of the film material to Basement Films".
From BBC • Jun. 20, 2025
I found the Basement at the back of Pies and Lows pop-up pizzeria, though you’ll need a password to enter and it changes every day.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2024
She was there on her lunch break, buying discounted pantyhose in the Basement.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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.
