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• bass
  bass

  adjective

  low in pitch; of the lowest pitch or range.
• Bass
  Bass

  noun

  Sam, 1851–78, U.S. outlaw: bank and train robber in the West.

bass

¹ American  

[bays] / beɪs /

adjective

1. low in pitch; of the lowest pitch or range.

   a bass voice; a bass instrument.

2. of or relating to the lowest part in harmonic music.

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noun

1. the bass part.

2. a bass voice, singer, or instrument.

3. double bass.

bass ² American  

[bas] / bæs /

noun

• bass,
  plural
• basses
  plural

1. any of numerous edible, spiny-finned, freshwater or marine fishes of the families Serranidae and Centrarchidae.

2. (originally) the European perch, Perca fluviatilis.

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bass ³ American  

[bas] / bæs /

noun

1. the basswood or linden.

2. bast.

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Bass ⁴ American  

[bas] / bæs /

noun

1. Sam, 1851–78, U.S. outlaw: bank and train robber in the West.

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bass ¹ British  

/ beɪs /

noun

1. the lowest adult male voice usually having a range from E a 13th below middle C to D a tone above it

2. a singer with such a voice

3. the lowest part in a piece of harmony See also thorough bass

4. informal short for bass guitar double bass

5. 1. the low-frequency component of an electrical audio signal, esp in a record player or tape recorder

   2. the knob controlling this on such an instrument

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adjective

1. relating to or denoting the bass

   bass pitch

   the bass part

2. denoting the lowest and largest instrument in a family

   a bass trombone

bass ² British  

/ bæs /

noun

1. another name for bast

2. short for basswood

3. Also called: fish bass. a bast fibre bag for holding an angler's catch

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bass ³ British  

/ bæs /

noun

1. any of various sea perches, esp Morone labrax , a popular game fish with one large spiny dorsal fin separate from a second smaller one See also sea bass stone bass

2. the European perch See perch 2

3. any of various predatory North American freshwater percoid fishes, such as Micropterus salmoides , ( largemouth bass ): family Centrarchidae (sunfishes, etc)

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bass Cultural  

1. The lowest range of the male singing voice. (Compare baritone and tenor.)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bassness
  noun
• bassy
  adjective
• bassly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bass
  plural
• basses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bass¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English bas, bass(e), baas, variant of base ² with ss of basso

Origin of bass²

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English bas(e), bace, earlier bærs, Old English bærs, bears (with loss of r before s as in ass ², passel, etc.); cognate with Dutch baars, German Barsch, Old Swedish agh-borre

Origin of bass³

First recorded in 1675–85; variant of bast with unexplained loss of -t

Explanation

A bass sound or instrument is the deepest. If a barbershop quartet sings “Happy Birthday” to you, the guy with the lowest voice is singing the bass part. A bass is also a type of saltwater fish. The word bass has two main meanings with separate pronunciations — bass with a high vowel sound (like base) ironically refers to very low sounds — bass instruments and singers are in the lowest part of the musical range, like the low rumble of a bass guitar. If you say bass with a low vowel sound, it's a type of fish. That kind of bass doesn’t add much to a harmony but is delicious with mashed potatoes.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bass Bass basses

The melody lines of the bass in R.E.M. songs are singularly melodic and distinctive, with a fluidity that makes them seem simple when they are not.

From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026

The co-founder, frontman and bass player of pioneering heavy metal band Venom has died at the age of 63, it has been announced.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

"Nirvana continues to resonate so deeply because people are still hungry for authenticity," bass player Krist Novoselic said after a video retrospective of the band's videos.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

The second course featured sesame-crusted sea bass with baby bok choy and roasted garden eggplant.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Thus the instrumentarium was born—the complete set of which includes bass bars, bass, alto/tenor, and soprano metallophones, xylophones and alto and soprano glockenspiels.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Publicly, Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass continued to make comments encouraging Bonta and Paramount to find a solution.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

And Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said his comments could “potentially compromise our safety.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is in the fight of her political life, facing a vigorous challenge from City Councilmember Nithya Raman, a savvy campaigner who was until recently a close ally.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Bass started out as a physician’s assistant at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, now L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

I had no doubt that what Falconer and my master, Simon Bass, were asking me to do was wrong.

From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood

The number of electric guitars and basses sold declined an estimated 4% last year in the U.S., according to data from industry publication Music Trades.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026

Sharpe says that during his time in the Royal Navy, they conducted war games simulating an Iranian attack on military basses in the Middle East.

From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2026

A friend, who played bass and owned a few electric basses — and who had lost his home — even joked about it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 22, 2025

But the Ames Brothers — Ed, Joe, Gene and Vic — had a unique tone: they were basses and baritones, not tenors.

From Seattle Times ● May 27, 2023

It was easier for Chester to play the ones written for tenors than the ones for sopranos, contraltos, and basses, but he did them all beautifully.

From "The Cricket in Times Square" by George Selden

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