noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bassist
Explanation
If you're a musician who plays a standup bass or a bass guitar, you're a bassist. All bassists play instruments with deep, low tones, and the word derives from a Latin root meaning "low." In a rock band, the bassist and drummer provide the rhythm that forms a song's foundation — and the bassist also plays notes that harmonize with the guitar, keyboards, and any other instruments. Classical and jazz bassists do something similar, but they have to stand up while they're playing.
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:
Barely a week passed between the news, via GoFundMe, that L7 bassist Jennifer Finch was fighting an aggressive form of brain cancer and the announcement of her death.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
Jennifer Finch, the bassist for veteran LA rock act L7, has brain cancer and will not perform with the band on its farewell tour this year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
The cathedral provided a fitting backdrop for the band's homecoming and last album, bassist Horace Panter explained.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
He convened a slightly different quintet—trumpeter Adam O’Farrill, tenor saxophonist Mark Shim, pianist Lex Korten and bassist Tyrone Allen II—for a Jazz at Lincoln Center performance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
Turns out I will not become a bassist today.
From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon
But rock-band bassists were in short supply, so I fooled around on the bass.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
That same year, Rolling Stone ranked him 28th on its list of the 50 greatest bassists of all time.
From New York Times ● Feb. 7, 2024
“You can’t go wrong with two of the greatest bassists on the whole planet,” Evans says.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 26, 2022
Aside from Charles Mingus and Oscar Pettiford, bassists weren’t seen as bandleaders; being able to carry out his own vision was a rebellious act.
From New York Times ● May 9, 2022
I go up to the fourth floor to meet the other bassists.
From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon
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.
