base

Universal Words noun, verb, adjective noun lowest part 1 [C,usually sing.] the lowest part of sth, especially the part or surface on which it rests or stands: the base of a column / pyramid / glass * a pain at the base of the spine * The lamp has a heavy base. original idea / situation 2 [C] an idea, a fact, a situation, etc. from which sth is developed: She used her family's history as a base for her novel. * His arguments have a sound economic base. of support / income / power 3 [C,usually sing.] the people, activity, etc. from which sb/sth gets most of their support, income, power, etc: The party's main power base is in the agricultural regions. * These policies have a broad base of support. * an economy with a solid manufacturing base * Our business needs to build up its customer base. * By broadening the tax base (= increasing the number of people who pay taxes) he could raise more revenue. first / main substance 4 [C,usually sing.] the first or main part of a substance to which other things are added: a drink with a rum base * Put some moisturizer on as a base before applying your make-up. main place 5 [C] the main place where you live or stay or where a business operates from: I spend a lot of time in Britain but Paris is still my base. * The town is an ideal base for touring the area. * You can use our apartment as a base in New York. * The company has its base in New York, and branch offices all over the world. of army / navy / air force 6 [C,U] a place where an army, a navy or an air force operates from: a military / naval base * an air base * After the attack, they returned to base. chemistry 7 [C] a chemical substance, for example an ALKALI, that can combine with an acid to form a salt mathematics 8 [C,usually sing.] a number on which a system of counting and expressing numbers is built up, for example 10 in the DECIMAL system and 2 in the BINARY system in baseball / rounders 9 [C] one of the four positions that a player must reach in order to score points seealsoDATABASE IDIOMS off base (AmE, informal) completely wrong about sth: If that's what you think, you're way off base. moreatFIRSTBASE, TOUCHv. verb [VN] [usuallypassive] ~ sb/sth / yourself in... to use a particular city, town, etc. as the main place for a business, holiday/vacation, etc.: They decided to base the new company in York. * We're going to base ourselves in Tokyo and make trips from there. PHRASALVERBS base sth on / upon sth to use an idea, a fact, a situation, etc. as the point from which sth can be developed: What are you basing this theory on? seealsoBASED adjective (baser, basest) (formal) not having moral principles or rules: He acted from base motives. basely adverb