premise

American  

[prem-is] / ˈprɛm ɪs /

noun

• premises
  plural

1. Logic. Also premiss. a proposition supporting or helping to support a conclusion.

   Synonyms:

   postulate, assumption

2. premises,

   1. a tract of land including its buildings.

   2. a building together with its grounds or other appurtenances.

   3. the property forming the subject of a conveyance or bequest.

3. Law.

   1. a basis, stated or assumed, on which reasoning proceeds.

   2. an earlier statement in a document.

   3. (in a bill in equity) the statement of facts upon which the complaint is based.

---

verb (used with object)

• premises,
  present (3rd person singular)
• premised,
  past participle,  past
• premising
  present participle

1. to set forth beforehand, as by way of introduction or explanation.

2. to assume, either explicitly or implicitly, (a proposition) as a premise for a conclusion.

   Synonyms:

   hypothesize, postulate

verb (used without object)

• premises,
  present (3rd person singular)
• premised,
  past participle,  past
• premising
  present participle

1. to state or assume a premise.

premise British  

noun

1. Also: premiss.  logic a statement that is assumed to be true for the purpose of an argument from which a conclusion is drawn

---

verb

1. (when tr, may take a clause as object) to state or assume (a proposition) as a premise in an argument, theory, etc

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• repremise
  verb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• premises
  plural

Participles

• premising
  present
• premised
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• premise
  simple
• premises
  simple
• have premised
  perfect
• has premised
  perfect
• am premising
  progressive
• are premising
  progressive
• is premising
  progressive
• have been premising
  perfect progressive
• has been premising
  perfect progressive

Past

• premised
  simple
• had premised
  perfect
• was premising
  progressive
• were premising
  progressive
• had been premising
  perfect progressive

Future

• will premise
  simple
• will have premised
  perfect
• will be premising
  progressive
• will have been premising
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of premise

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English premiss, from Medieval Latin praemissa, noun use of feminine of Latin praemissus, past participle of praemittere “to send before,” equivalent to prae- “before, in front, ahead,” + mittere “to send”; see pre-

Explanation

A premise is what forms the basis of a theory or a plot. When you called 911 on the guy in your back yard, it was on the premise that he was a thief and not the meter-reader. In logic, the premise is the basic statement upon whose truth an argument is based. Criticize alternative theories by demonstrating their false premises. In a more general sense, it's a basic assertion. On the premise that people are generally good, you keep your doors unlocked. Premise is also used more loosely for the starting point for a plot. A movie's premise could be that two people trapped on a desert island will inevitably fall in love.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

premise premises premised premising

Did she back off on a premise that is dead on arrival in the current cultural firmament?

From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026

"We're famously a wet country but there's been a whole raft of really positive research coming out of the States that's basically working on the premise that water doesn't burn," he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026

Yet his latest fails to magically transcend its deceptively simple premise.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

Wise said the rejected application was based on the premise that the Federal Reserve would grant it a master account for payment system access, an approach it now says is “non-viable.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

I remember the plot clearly, or at least the premise, because the main character was a corpse.

From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien

One thing to note: There are no TVs on the premises.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

It stopped making bikes in the city decades ago, and in 2024 it vacated its headquarters on Church Street in Eastwood to move to new premises less than a mile away.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

County officials did not remove any dogs from the premises but instead served the facility with an order to treat three dogs with veterinary care.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

Friday's judgement said that while plans submitted to the UK authorities were redacted and not all rooms were identified, there was "no possible ambiguity as to the nature of the intended use of the premises".

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

She dearly hoped there were ponies on the premises.

From "The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling" by Maryrose Wood

Trademarks, unlike copyrights or patents, are intellectual property that are not premised on creating value for whoever registers them; they’re about protecting consumers.

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026

The policy was originally premised on the SEC’s statutory authority “to make such rules and regulations as may be necessary or appropriate” to enforce securities laws.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

He also rejected the notion that he would do Big Tech’s bidding, and the idea that his support from tech leaders is entirely or even largely premised on his plans for their industry.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026

But he’ll always have the memes, which, although premised on his past work, actually catapulted his name to a level of immortality that his filmography alone never could.

From Slate ● Mar. 20, 2026

The entire economy was premised on its stability, and its stability in turn depended on house prices continuing to rise.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Feinstein, who is well known for her opposition to drones, is premising her legislation on safety concerns.

From Forbes ● Dec. 3, 2014

One of his most premising innovations was a new Secretariat for non-Christian religions; but Paul entrusted the project to a Curia professional, Paolo Cardinal Marella, and almost nothing has been heard of it since.

From Time Magazine Archive

I say "ought to be," premising that most of us have formed our first ideas of French châteaux, from those works of imagination which endow such places so liberally with gothic architecture and haunted woods.

From Itinerary of Provence and the Rhone Made During the Year 1819 by Hughes, John

Club-foot used to perch beside me on a chair, and pick his morsels from the floor, always premising that two windows at least must be open.

From Aileen Aroon, A Memoir With other Tales of Faithful Friends and Favourites by Stables, Gordon

Some of those changes we will now glance at, premising that seven years have passed away since the occurrence of the events recorded in our last chapter.

From The Floating Light of the Goodwin Sands by Ballantyne, R. M. (Robert Michael)

Related Words

• assertion
• assumption
• basis
• ground
• presumption
• proposition
• thesis