basket

American  

[bas-kit] / ˈbæs kɪt /

noun

• baskets
  plural

1. a container made of twigs, rushes, thin strips of wood, or other flexible material woven together.

2. a container made of pieces of thin veneer, used for packing berries, vegetables, etc.

3. the amount contained in a basket; a basketful.

   to pick a basket of apples.

4. anything like a basket in shape or use.

   He never empties my wastepaper basket.

5. any group of things or different things grouped as a unit; a package; package deal.

   You can't buy the single stock; you have to take the basket—all companies, stocks and bonds.

6. the car or gondola suspended beneath a balloon, as for carrying passengers or scientific instruments into the atmosphere.

7. Basketball.

   1. an open net suspended from a metal rim attached to the backboard and through which the ball must pass in order for a player to score points.

   2. a score, counting two for a field goal and one for a free throw.

8. Also called snow ring. Skiing. a ring strapped to the base of a ski pole to limit penetration of the pole in the snow.

9. Slang: Vulgar. the male genitals, especially when outlined by a tight-fitting garment.

---

basket British  

/ ˈbɑːskɪt /

noun

1. a container made of interwoven strips of pliable materials, such as cane, straw, thin wood, or plastic, and often carried by means of a handle or handles

2. Also called: basketful. the amount a basket will hold

3. something resembling such a container in appearance or function, such as the structure suspended from a balloon

4. basketball

   1. an open horizontal metal hoop fixed to the backboard, through which a player must throw the ball to score points

   2. a point or points scored in this way

5. a group or collection of similar of related things

   a basket of currencies

6. informal a euphemism for bastard bastard

7. the list of items an internet shopper chooses to buy at one time from a website

   add these items to your basket

---

basket Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing basket

• put all one's eggs in one basket

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• basketlike
  adjective
• unbasketlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• baskets
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of basket

1250–1300; Middle English basket ( te ) < early Romance *baskauta (> French dialect bâchot, bachou wooden or interwoven vessel, Old High German baskiza box) < Latin bascauda basin, perhaps < British Celtic

---

Explanation

A basket is a container made of woven straw or other material. You might keep your dirty clothes in a plastic laundry basket. There are many different types of baskets, from the shopping basket you carry in a grocery store to the basket you aim for when you throw a basketball. There are figurative baskets, too, like the basket you add items to when you're shopping online. What's known about the origin of basket is that it comes from the Anglo-French bascat — beyond that, it's a mystery.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

basket baskets

Sexton was at his best in the third quarter, scoring 11 of his 21 points, flexing and pounding his chest after a made basket.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

And both stars see the humor in this supposed specimen of a perfect man being born from Peter Dinklage’s queer basket weaver.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

A basket of AI-linked stocks fueled $138 billion in paper gains for 13 of the largest public-pension funds between the end of 2022 and June.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

Contracts can also be written against a basket of related companies or an entire index of corporate-debt issuers.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026

Two of the dogs he carried in the basket and one limped along behind him.

From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell

How about two warm baskets full of kittens?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

The issue there is that these futures contracts are underpinned by baskets of actual Treasurys, and the specific Treasury that the futures contract mirrors changes as bond yields move up and down.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Somebody washed the ramekins and refilled the baskets.

From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026

Toy baskets are labeled in English, Spanish and Mandarin for transitional kindergarten students at a dual language Head Start program at Hillcrest Elementary School in Monterey Park on Aug. 21.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

Their baskets and shopping carts were filled with all kinds of foods to make ice cream with.

From "Scream for Ice Cream: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #2" by Carolyn Keene

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• box
• crate

---