1. [n]  a support or foundation; "the base of the lamp"
2. [n]  place that runner must touch before scoring; "he scrambled to get back to the bag"
3. [n]  (electronics) the part of a transistor that separates the emitter from the collector
4. [n]  installation from which a military force initiates operations; "the attack wiped out our forward bases"
5. [n]  a flat bottom on which something is intended to sit; "a tub should sit on its own base"
6. [n]  the principal ingredient of a mixture; "glycerinated gelatin is used as a base for many ointments"; "he told the painter that he wanted a yellow base with just a hint of green"; "everything she cooked seemed to have rice as the base"
7. [n]  lowest support of a structure; "it was built on a base of solid rock"; "he stood at the foot of the tower"
8. [n]  the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area; "the industrial base of Japan"
9. [n]  the fundamental assumptions underlying an explanation; "the whole argument rested on a basis of conjecture"
10. [n]  (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed; "thematic vowels are part of the stem"
11. [n]  a lower limit; "the government established a wage floor"
12. [n]  the place where you are stationed and from which missions start and end
13. [n]  (anatomy) the part of an organ nearest its point of attachment; "the base of the skull"
14. [n]  the bottom or lowest part; "the base of the mountain"
15. [n]  (in a digital numeration system) the positive integer that is equivalent to one in the next higher counting place; "10 is the radix of the decimal system"
16. [n]  the bottom side of a geometric figure from which the altitude can be constructed; "the base of the triangle"
17. [n]  any of various water-soluble compounds capable of turning litmus blue and reacting with an acid to form a salt and water; "bases include oxides and hydroxides of metals and ammonia"
18. [adj]  debased; not genuine; "an attempt to eliminate the base coinage"
19. [adj]  (archaic) illegitimate
20. [adj]  having or showing an ignoble lack of honor or morality; "that liberal obedience without which your army would be a base rabble"- Edmund Burke; "taking a mean advantage"; "chok'd with ambition of the meaner sort"- Shakespeare; "something essentially vulgar and meanspirited in politics"
21. [adj]  of low birth or station (`base' is archaic in this sense); "baseborn wretches with dirty faces"; "of humble (or lowly) birth"
22. [adj]  serving as or forming a base; "the painter applied a base coat followed by two finishing coats"
23. [adj]  not adhering to ethical or moral principles; "base and unpatriotic motives"; "a base, degrading way of life"; "cheating is dishonorable"; "they considered colonialism immoral"; "unethical practices in handling public funds"
24. [adj]  (used of metals) consisting of or alloyed with inferior metal; "base coins of aluminum"; "a base metal"
25. [v]  use as a basis for; found on; "base a claim on some observation"
26. [v]  assign to a station
27. [v]  use (purified cocaine) by burning it and inhaling the fumes

1. \Base\ (b[=a]s), a. [OE. bass, F. bas, low, fr. LL. bassus
   thick, fat, short, humble; cf. L. Bassus, a proper name, and
   W. bas shallow. Cf. {Bass} a part in music.]
   1. Of little, or less than the usual, height; of low growth;
      as, base shrubs. [Archaic] --Shak.
   2. Low in place or position. [Obs.] --Shak.
   3. Of humble birth; or low degree; lowly; mean. [Archaic] ``A
      pleasant and base swain.'' --Bacon.
   4. Illegitimate by birth; bastard. [Archaic]
            Why bastard? wherefore base?          --Shak.
   5. Of little comparative value, as metal inferior to gold and
      silver, the precious metals.
   6. Alloyed with inferior metal; debased; as, base coin; base
      bullion.
   7. Morally low. Hence: Low-minded; unworthy; without dignity
      of sentiment; ignoble; mean; illiberal; menial; as, a base
      fellow; base motives; base occupations. ``A cruel act of a
      base and a cowardish mind.'' --Robynson (More's Utopia).
      ``Base ingratitude.'' --Milton.
   8. Not classical or correct. ``Base Latin.'' --Fuller.
   9. Deep or grave in sound; as, the base tone of a violin. [In
      this sense, commonly written {bass.}]
   10. (Law) Not held by honorable service; as, a base estate,
       one held by services not honorable; held by villenage.
       Such a tenure is called base, or low, and the tenant, a
       base tenant.
   {Base fee}, formerly, an estate held at the will of the lord;
      now, a qualified fee. See note under {Fee}, n., 4.
   {Base metal}. See under {Metal}.
   Syn: Dishonorable; worthless; ignoble; low-minded; infamous;
        sordid; degraded.
   Usage: {Base}, {Vile}, {Mean}. These words, as expressing
          moral qualities, are here arranged in the order of
          their strength, the strongest being placed first. Base
          marks a high degree of moral turpitude; vile and mean
          denote, in different degrees, the want of what is
          valuable or worthy of esteem. What is base excites our
          abhorrence; what is vile provokes our disgust or
          indignation; what is mean awakens contempt. Base is
          opposed to high-minded; vile, to noble; mean, to
          liberal or generous. Ingratitude is base; sycophancy
          is vile; undue compliances are mean.
   

2. \Base\, n. [F. base, L. basis, fr. Gr. ? a stepping step, a
   base, pedestal, fr. ? to go, step, akin to E. come. Cf.
   {Basis}, and see {Come}.]
   1. The bottom of anything, considered as its support, or that
      on which something rests for support; the foundation; as,
      the base of a statue. ``The base of mighty mountains.''
      --Prescott.
   2. Fig.: The fundamental or essential part of a thing; the
      essential principle; a groundwork.
   3. (Arch.)
      (a) The lower part of a wall, pier, or column, when
          treated as a separate feature, usually in projection,
          or especially ornamented.
      (b) The lower part of a complete architectural design, as
          of a monument; also, the lower part of any elaborate
          piece of furniture or decoration.
   4. (Bot.) That extremity of a leaf, fruit, etc., at which it
      is attached to its support.
   5. (Chem.) The positive, or non-acid component of a salt; a
      substance which, combined with an acid, neutralizes the
      latter and forms a salt; -- applied also to the hydroxides
      of the positive elements or radicals, and to certain
      organic bodies resembling them in their property of
      forming salts with acids.
   6. (Pharmacy) The chief ingredient in a compound.
   7. (Dyeing) A substance used as a mordant. --Ure.
   8. (Fort.) The exterior side of the polygon, or that
      imaginary line which connects the salient angles of two
      adjacent bastions.
   9. (Geom.) The line or surface constituting that part of a
      figure on which it is supposed to stand.
   10. (Math.) The number from which a mathematical table is
       constructed; as, the base of a system of logarithms.
   11. [See {Base} low.] A low, or deep, sound. (Mus.)
       (a) The lowest part; the deepest male voice.
       (b) One who sings, or the instrument which plays, base.
           [Now commonly written {bass}.]
                 The trebles squeak for fear, the bases roar.
                                                  --Dryden.
   12. (Mil.) A place or tract of country, protected by
       fortifications, or by natural advantages, from which the
       operations of an army proceed, forward movements are
       made, supplies are furnished, etc.
   13. (Mil.) The smallest kind of cannon. [Obs.]
   14. (Zo["o]l.) That part of an organ by which it is attached
       to another more central organ.
   15. (Crystallog.) The basal plane of a crystal.
   16. (Geol.) The ground mass of a rock, especially if not
       distinctly crystalline.
   17. (Her.) The lower part of the field. See {Escutcheon}.
   18. The housing of a horse. [Obs.]
   19. pl. A kind of skirt ( often of velvet or brocade, but
       sometimes of mailed armor) which hung from the middle to
       about the knees, or lower. [Obs.]
   20. The lower part of a robe or petticoat. [Obs.]
   21. An apron. [Obs.] ``Bakers in their linen bases.''
       --Marston.
   22. The point or line from which a start is made; a starting
       place or a goal in various games.
             To their appointed base they went.   --Dryden.
   23. (Surv.) A line in a survey which, being accurately
       determined in length and position, serves as the origin
       from which to compute the distances and positions of any
       points or objects connected with it by a system of
       triangles. --Lyman.
   24. A rustic play; -- called also {prisoner's base}, {prison
       base}, or {bars}. ``To run the country base.'' --Shak.
   25. (Baseball) Any one of the four bounds which mark the
       circuit of the infield.
   {Altern base}. See under {Altern}.
   {Attic base}. (Arch.) See under {Attic}.
   {Base course}. (Arch.)
       (a) The first or lower course of a foundation wall, made
           of large stones of a mass of concrete; -- called also
           {foundation course}.
       (b) The architectural member forming the transition
           between the basement and the wall above.
   {Base hit} (Baseball), a hit, by which the batsman, without
      any error on the part of his opponents, is able to reach
      the first base without being put out.
   {Base line}.
       (a) A main line taken as a base, as in surveying or in
           military operations.
       (b) A line traced round a cannon at the rear of the vent.
   {Base plate}, the foundation plate of heavy machinery, as of
      the steam engine; the bed plate.
   {Base ring} (Ordnance), a projecting band of metal around the
      breech, connected with the body of the gun by a concave
      molding. --H. L. Scott.
   

3. \Base\ (b[=a]s), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Based} (b[=a]sd); p.
   pr. & vb. n. {Basing}.] [From {Base}, n.]
   To put on a base or basis; to lay the foundation of; to
   found, as an argument or conclusion; -- used with on or upon.
   --Bacon.
   

4. \Base\, v. t. [See {Base}, a., and cf. {Abase}.]
   1. To abase; to let, or cast, down; to lower. [Obs.]
            If any . . . based his pike.          --Sir T.
                                                  North.
   2. To reduce the value of; to debase. [Obs.]
            Metals which we can not base.         --Bacon.
   

radix.

1. Any basic (alkaline) compound containing nitrogen, but generally referring to one of four complex molecules ( nucleotides) that form the building blocks of the nucleic acids, DNA and RNA.
2. A fundamental category of many compounds whose water-based solutions have a bitter taste, a slippery feel in water, turn red litmus paper blue, and can react with acids to form salts. A base has a pH higher than 7; a strong base will have a pH of 13 or higher. Specific types of bases include:
   1. Arrhenius base: any chemical that increases the number of free hydroxide ions (OH-) when they're added to a water-based solution. The more ions produced, the stronger the acid.
   2. Bronsted or Bronsted-Lowry base: any chemical that acts as a proton acceptor in a chemical reaction.
   3. Lewis base: any chemical that donates two electrons to form a covalent bond during a chemical reaction.

1. One of the molecules that form DNA and RNA molecules.
2. a subunit of a nucleotide that makes up the DNA and RNA molecules; either a purine or a pyrimidine.