basement

American  

[beys-muhnt] / ˈbeɪs mənt /

noun

1. a story of a building, partly or wholly underground.

2. (in classical and Renaissance architecture) the portion of a building beneath the principal story, treated as a single compositional unit.

3. the lowermost portion of a structure.

4. the substructure of a columnar or arched construction.

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basement British  

/ ˈbeɪsmənt /

noun

1. 1. a partly or wholly underground storey of a building, esp the one immediately below the main floor Compare cellar

   2. ( as modifier )

      a basement flat

2. the foundation or substructure of a wall or building

3. geology a part of the earth's crust formed of hard igneous or metamorphic rock that lies beneath the cover of soft sedimentary rock, sediment, and soil

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Etymology

Origin of basement

First recorded in 1720–30; base ¹ + -ment

Example Sentences

Five kids, never enough bathrooms, basement TV and family who travel miles from all over to be here.

From The Wall Street Journal

The second, in the basement of the house Manetta shares with her mother, drew 10.

From Salon

But when the basement lights were off and the others were distracted, a four-year-old could hide on the stairs and peep over the railing to see all of “Titanic,” rated PG-13 by the way.

From The Wall Street Journal

Set in a Dallas shopping mall, “Forbidden Fruits” revolves around an elite clique of retail employees who run a witches’ coven out of the basement of their boho boutique Free Eden.

From Los Angeles Times

When agents came knocking, Rojas sent his employees to the basement.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• cellar
• storage
• vault