Basque
noun
one of a people of unknown origin inhabiting the western Pyrenees regions in France and Spain.
Basque
American
[bask]
/ bæsk /
noun
-
Basques
plural
-
one of a people of unknown origin inhabiting the western Pyrenees regions in France and Spain.
-
their language, not known to be related to any other language.
-
(lowercase) a close-fitting bodice, sometimes having an extension that covers the hips.
-
(lowercase) the extension of this bodice or of a doublet.
adjective
Basque
1
British
/ bæsk, bɑːsk /
noun
-
a member of a people of unknown origin living around the W Pyrenees in France and Spain
-
the language of this people, of no known relationship with any other language
adjective
basque
2
British
/ bɑːsk, bæsk /
noun
-
a short extension below the waist to the bodice of a woman's jacket, etc
-
a tight-fitting bodice for women
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of Basque1
C19: from French, from Latin Vascō a Basque
Origin of basque2
C19: perhaps from Basque
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:
For the latest work, they focused on people from the Basque region of Spain who spoke between one and four languages, using different combinations of Spanish, Basque, French and English.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
And Deschamps, who grew up in modest circumstances in Basque country, is the one who has made all those disparate parts work together.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
Instead, it’s been a 30-year-old Basque without a true position who has played all of nine minutes over La Roja’s past two matches.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
Arteta and Iraola grew up in the same region of the Basque Country and played for youth team Antiguoko in San Sebastian.
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
By contrast, all of Europe has just 4 language families—Indo-European, Finno-Ugric, Basque, and Turkic—with the great majority of Europeans speaking an Indo-European tongue.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Skip the baklava and finish with the basque cheesecake.
From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2025
Constructed in cream silk shantung, the veste was sculpted to fit snugly above a narrow waist, then flare into a scalloped basque, which was meticulously padded, stiffened and weighted to accentuate the hipline.
From New York Times ● Nov. 25, 2021
Standing 5ft 9in in her Vivienne Westwood basque tonight, J – born Jessica Cornish – has a voice so expansive it looks likely to annex great swaths of territory this year.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 23, 2011
A week later, Beyoncé wore a basque, flexed a whip, smoked a fag and subverted the cliched ideal of the compliant 1950s housewife in the video for Why Don't You Love Me?.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 21, 2010
The basque was buttoned down the front with black buttons which looked so exactly like juicy big blackberries that Laura wanted to taste them.
From "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder
A lively and fluent writer, Mr. Kurlansky, the author of books on the Basques, cod, salt and other subjects, brings the Boston milieu to life with sympathy, verve and dry humor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2025
Both Basques and Geordies have a proud local identity and are immensely passionate about their football clubs.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2025
The Basques set their way towards an 18th straight home victory with three first-half tries -- as Capilla grabbed his first before wing Arnaud Erbinartegaray and scrum-half Baptiste Germain also crossed the whitewash.
From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2025
Basques said he wants Indigenous communities to be involved in decision-making and to promote investments in agriculture, tourism and other projects that will provide benefits to the community after the lithium boom dies down.
From Reuters ● Jul. 20, 2023
We passed lots of Basques with oxen, or cattle, hauling carts along the road, and nice farmhouses, low roofs, and all white-plastered.
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
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.
