basal
Americanadjective
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of, at, or forming the base.
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forming a basis; fundamental; basic.
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Physiology.
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indicating a standard low level of activity of an organism, as during total rest.
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of an amount required to maintain this level.
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Medicine/Medical. serving to induce a preliminary or light anesthesia prior to total anesthetization.
adjective
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at, of, or constituting a base
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of or constituting a foundation or basis; fundamental; essential
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of basal
Explanation
Something that's basal forms the base or the bottom layer of an object. The basal leaves on a plant are connected to the lowest section of its stem. In medicine, the word basal describes structures that are located at the base of some major organ or other body part. Basal ganglia, for example, are found at the base of the brain in humans, and a basal cell is at the deepest part of the skin. Basal comes from the word base, from the Latin basis, "foundation," via the Greek basis, "step or pedestal."
Vocabulary lists containing basal
The Lives of a Cell
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On the Origin of Species
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The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
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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.
Dopamine is another major chemical messenger that sends signals to the basal ganglia, a brain region involved in forming habits.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
"Luckily," she says, "they were all slow-growing basal cell carcinomas. I had to have two cut out and two taken off via cryotherapy."
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Simon said that at the same time as her Parkinson's diagnosis, she was treated for a facial basal cell carcinoma.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Simon revealed that in the same period, she underwent surgery to treat skin cancer, specifically basal cell carcinoma on her face.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
“That’s what you call a basal thermometer. It reads the temperature down to a tenth of a degree.”
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
