basis

[ bey-sis ]

/ ˈbeɪ sɪs /

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noun, plural ba·ses [bey-seez]. /ˈbeɪ siz/.

the bottom or base of anything; the part on which something stands or rests.

anything upon which something is based; fundamental principle; groundwork.

the principal constituent; fundamental ingredient.

a basic fact, amount, standard, etc., used in making computations, reaching conclusions, or the like: The nurse is paid on an hourly basis. He was chosen on the basis of his college grades.

Mathematics. a set of linearly independent elements of a given vector space having the property that every element of the space can be written as a linear combination of the elements of the set.

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Origin of basis

1525–35; <Latin <Greek básis step, place one stands on, pedestal, equivalent to ba-, base of baínein to walk, step (akin to come) + -sis-sis; cf. base¹

synonym study for basis

1, 2. See base¹.

Words nearby basis

Basingstoke, basin range, basion, basipetal, basiphobia, basis, basis of articulation, basisphenoid, basis point, basis weight, basivertebral vein

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for basis

I don’t have advice to cancel the event on the basis that it’s unsafe.
Novak Djokovic’s five-set battle at Australian Open started with fans and ended without them|Matt Bonesteel|February 12, 2021|Washington Post
Michael breaks down music into 10 elements, which serve as the basis for each chapter.
The tale of a bass player, sonic epiphanies and a quest to save ‘real music’|Ben Ratliff|February 12, 2021|Washington Post
The neglect of students on the basis of race and income is long-standing and only addressing it will maximize latent talent, thereby benefiting all Americans.
My great-grandmother Ida B. Wells left a legacy of activism in education. We need that now.|Michelle Duster|February 11, 2021|Washington Post
Instead, it aimed to determine whether a particular hiring tool grossly discriminates against candidates on the basis of race or gender.
Auditors are testing hiring algorithms for bias, but there’s no easy fix|Amy Nordrum|February 11, 2021|MIT Technology Review

Because of the pandemic we started to FaceTime each other on a regular basis.
Love at six feet|Julia Rothman, Shaina Feinberg|February 9, 2021|Washington Post
If Congress accurately reflected our nation on the basis of race, about 63 percent would be white, not 80 percent.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Congress|Dean Obeidallah|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
We see the Southern segregationists who threatened his life and that of his family on an almost daily basis.
Dr. King Goes to Hollywood: The Flawed History of ‘Selma’|Gary May|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yet the email references the 1970s, “when police officers were ambushed and executed on a regular basis.”
We Need Our Police to Be Better Than This|Nick Gillespie|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Removing choice is bullying and seems a horrid basis on which to anchor your relationship.
Public Marriage Proposals Must Die|Tauriq Moosa|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So, I can deal with them on a daily basis, I know how it affects my body.
Tim Howard’s Wall of Intensity|William O’Connor|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The m relates it to the nares or humming tone (which is the basis of all resonance in the voice).
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
A resolute push for quite a short period now might reconstruct the entire basis of our collective human life.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
At the present time, certainly, no thought has ever occurred to Germans that they would not go back to a gold basis.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
But here in this little valley of the Kaw, he was cheered to see his race on a practical and sensible basis.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
The relative quantity of labor embodied in each object is the basis of its value.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock

British Dictionary definitions for basis

basis

/ (ˈbeɪsɪs) /

noun plural -ses (-siːz)

something that underlies, supports, or is essential to something else, esp an abstract idea

a principle on which something depends or from which something has issued

maths (of a vector space) a maximal set of linearly independent vectors, in terms of which all the elements of the space are uniquely expressible, and the number of which is the dimension of the spacethe vectors x, y and z form a basis of the 3-dimensional space all members of which can be written as a x + b y + c z

Word Origin for basis

C14: via Latin from Greek: step, from bainein to step, go

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for basis

basis

[ bā′sĭs ]

n. pl. ba•ses (-sēz′)

The foundation upon which something, such as an anatomical part, rests.

Scientific definitions for basis

basis

[ bā′sĭs ]

Plural bases (bā′sēz′)

A set of independent vectors whose linear combinations define a vector space, such as a reference frame used to establish a coordinate system.

Idioms and Phrases with basis

basis

see on a first-name basis.

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basis

noun, plural ba·ses [bey-seez]. /ˈbeɪ siz/.