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

It will make Centalion a major player in the Haynesville basin, a prolific gas patch straddling Texas and Louisiana.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Shortly before dusk, the trail led downward toward a shallow basin set with scrub and pines.

From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander

McLachlan said half of the company’s exploration capital is now spent in frontier basins, or those that are undeveloped, up from roughly 20% a few years ago.

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

New dams and debris basins turned the vast natural waterways and springs and creeks of old L.A. into a chutes-and-ladders system to divert and hold back water and mud, before the next time.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

From the washroom nearby came the sound of running water and rattling basins.

From "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck

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Related Words

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

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