noun
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Also called: bass. fibrous material obtained from the phloem of jute, hemp, flax, lime, etc, used for making rope, matting, etc
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botany another name for phloem
Etymology
Origin of bast
before 900; Middle English; Old English bæst; cognate with Dutch, German, Old Norse bast; perhaps ultimately cognate with Latin fascis bundle. See bass 3
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.
She felt that E. M. Forster didn’t have that much sympathy or interest in working-class people, that the characters of Leonard Bast and Jacky were undeveloped — not unsympathetic but undeveloped.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 2, 2021
Born in London, Samuel West, 54, was cast as Leonard Bast in Merchant Ivory’s 1992 film adaptation of Howards End.
From The Guardian • Oct. 24, 2020
The obvious favorite was Bast, who is nominated for an Eclipse Award.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 6, 2020
Grade 1 $300,000 Starlet: It was a tough race but Bast went to the lead and never gave it up despite being pressured by Donna Veloce, the heavy favorite.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 8, 2019
Bast slumped onto the stool without taking his eyes from Chronicler.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
