bask
Americanverb (used without object)
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basks,
present (3rd person singular)
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basked,
past participle, past
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basking
present participle
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to lie in or be exposed to a pleasant warmth.
to bask in the sunshine.
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to enjoy a pleasant situation.
He basked in royal favor.
verb (used with object)
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basks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
basked,
past participle, past
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basking
present participle
verb
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to lie in or be exposed to pleasant warmth, esp that of the sun
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to flourish or feel secure under some benevolent influence or favourable condition
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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basksimple
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baskssimple
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have baskedperfect
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has baskedperfect
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am baskingprogressive
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are baskingprogressive
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is baskingprogressive
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have been baskingperfect progressive
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has been baskingperfect progressive
Past
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baskedsimple
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had baskedperfect
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was baskingprogressive
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were baskingprogressive
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had been baskingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bask
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Old Norse bathask “to bathe oneself,” equivalent to bath- bath 1 + -ask reflexive suffix
Explanation
To bask in something is to take it in, receive its warmth, or bathe in its goodness. On the first warm day of the spring, you may bask in the sunshine. When you win the Pulitzer, you bask in your own glory. In Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” Jaques says: “...As I do live by food, I met a fool; Who laid him down and bask'd him in the sun,; And rail'd on Lady Fortune in good terms...” That was most likely the first time bask was used in the way that we most often use it now: to bask is to warm yourself, either literally or figuratively, in the glow of the sun, good fortune, happiness, or a job well done.
Vocabulary lists containing bask
The Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer
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And Then There Were None
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This Week in Pop Culture: December 1 - 7, 2018
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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.
See Examples For:
There’s ample media coverage of older Americans who bask in apparent paradise somewhere far from home.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
While Netflix and the producers bask in the show's reception, viewers are already asking if there will be more seasons.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
And the U.S.-Iran talks held in Islamabad in April gave Pakistan a rare opportunity to bask in favorable international media coverage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
Instead, he was content to bask in the attention at the podium, while keeping his ambitions to himself.
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
He will bask instead in the victory of seeing me run.
From "Every Day" by David Levithan
While Guy basks in professional success, Rosemary begins to wilt, enduring intense pain and flashbacks to a nightmare she had on the night of conception.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2025
As Wales basks in the warm weather, people are being urged to "be careful" with their use of water.
From BBC ● May 2, 2025
As Ryan Coogler basks in the critical and commercial triumphs of his latest film, “Sinners,” he turns a mirror back on the people who helped make that success possible.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2025
Like the woodpeckers, it is adapted to open-canopied longleaf forests, where it basks in the sun, feeds on herbaceous plants and digs deep burrows in the sandy soil.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 20, 2023
At first, the youngest basks in fatherly love.
From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart
With a broad smile, he took in the scene and basked in the adulation of a crowd that viewed him as a hero.
From Slate ● May 20, 2026
Easter Road basked not just in the sunshine but in the anxiety of their guests, the unspeakable horror of having their league dream buffeted by their greatest rivals.
From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2026
News of a cease-fire ahead of the talks provided a global sigh of relief, and Pakistan basked in praise from around the world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
In the decade to come, Jackson basked in celebrity and international travel, including a controversial meeting with Yasser Arafat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2026
After he turned off the lights and left, I chomped on the lettuce I’d saved and basked in the warm glow of the streetlight—and my new friendship with Aldo.
From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney
The company’s stock is still basking in the glow of its “exceptionally strong” June-quarter earnings report, which reinforced investors’ confidence that its AI investments are generating returns, Lee added.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
On the whole, this is all such foolishness, doing no favors to a Texas team that should be basking in a historic win.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Infantino had been basking in the warm afterglow of a highly successful World Cup -- the largest ever with 48 teams and co-hosted by three countries, Canada, Mexico and the US.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
Morgan said that while recent basking shark sightings have been encouraging, there was still a lot to learn about the animals and what influenced where they were went.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
For a bit, all I could do was lie there, basking in that supernatural pain.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
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.
