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.

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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

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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

“Gordon Ramsay’s Secret Service,” a follow-up series that debuted in 2025, pushed the premise further still: undercover helpers, surveillance, insiders and Ramsay comparing the operation to going “full on MI6” with restaurants.

From Salon • Jul. 5, 2026

Accepting the majority’s linguistic premise did not require accepting its legal conclusion.

From Slate • Jun. 26, 2026

A KeyBanc Capital Markets team, led by Jackson Ader, on Monday raised its Oracle fiscal 2028 to fiscal 2030 profit targets based on the premise that operating expenses likely will moderate.

From Barron's • Jun. 23, 2026

Leave that debate aside and examine the premise of the complaint that we don’t do all-encompassing collective efforts anymore.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 17, 2026

You just accept the premise that yo’ mama is dumb and we move on from there.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

Related Words

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