a substance that destroys micro-organisms that carry disease without harming body tissues
(extended sense) of exceptionally clean language; "lyrics as antiseptic as Sunday School"
clean and honest; "antiseptic financial practices"
thoroughly clean and free of or destructive to disease-causing organisms; "doctors in antiseptic green coats"; "the antiseptic effect of alcohol"; "it is said that marjoram has antiseptic qualities"
made free from live bacteria or other microorganisms; "sterilized instruments"
freeing from error or corruption; "the antiseptic effect of sturdy criticism"
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"
(virology) ultramicroscopic infectious agent that replicates itself only within cells of living hosts; many are pathogenic; a piece of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) wrapped in a thin coat of protein
a software program capable of reproducing itself and usually capable of causing great harm to files or other programs on the same computer; "a true virus cannot spread to another computer without human assistance"
a harmful or corrupting agency; "bigotry is a virus that must not be allowed to spread"; "the virus of jealousy is latent in everyone"