an initial accomplishment that opens the way for further developments; "the town became a beachhead in the campaign to ban smoking outdoors"; "they are presently attempting to gain a foothold in the Russian market"
a bridgehead on the enemy's shoreline seized by an amphibious operation; "the Germans were desperately trying to contain the Anzio beachhead"
a defensive post at the end of a bridge nearest to the enemy
an area in hostile territory that has been captured and is held awaiting further troops and supplies; "an attempt to secure a bridgehead behind enemy lines"; "the only foothold left for British troops in Europe was Gibraltar"
a situation from which extrication is difficult especially an unpleasant or trying one; "finds himself in a most awkward predicament"; "the woeful plight of homeless people"
place that runner must touch before scoring; "he scrambled to get back to the bag"
(electronics) the part of a transistor that separates the emitter from the collector
installation from which a military force initiates operations; "the attack wiped out our forward bases"
a flat bottom on which something is intended to sit; "a tub should sit on its own base"
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"
the place where you are stationed and from which missions start and end
(anatomy) the part of an organ nearest its point of attachment; "the base of the skull"
the bottom or lowest part; "the base of the mountain"
(numeration system) the positive integer that is equivalent to one in the next higher counting place; "10 is the radix of the decimal system"
the bottom side of a geometric figure from which the altitude can be constructed; "the base of the triangle"
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"
debased; not genuine; "an attempt to eliminate the base coinage"
illegitimate
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"
of low birth or station (`base' is archaic in this sense); "baseborn wretches with dirty faces"; "of humble (or lowly) birth"
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"
(used of metals) consisting of or alloyed with inferior metal; "base coins of aluminum"; "a base metal"
one of several parallel layers of material arranged one on top of another (such as a layer of tissue or cells in an organism or a layer of sedimentary rock)