<B>basic science,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> that part of science which is concerned solely or primarily with basic research. </DL>
<A NAME="basicslag">
<B>basic slag,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Metallurgy.) a slag in which the ratio of bases to acids is comparatively high. It is produced during the basic process of manufacturing steel, and is itself an important medium in this process. it is also a phosphate fertilizer of considerable agricultural value. </DL>
<A NAME="basictraining">
<B>basic training,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the schooling in military fundamentals of recruits in the armed forces, carried out over a period of two to four months. </DL>
<A NAME="basicwage">
<B>basic wage,</B> <B>=base pay.</B></DL>
<A NAME="basidia">
<B>basidia, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> plural of <B>basidium.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="basidial">
<B>basidial, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having a basidium or basidia. </DL>
<A NAME="basidiomycete">
<B>basidiomycete, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any plant of a large class of fungi that includes smuts, rusts, mushrooms, and puffballs. The basidiomycetes are characterized by the formation of spores on a basidium. </DL>
<A NAME="basidiomycetous">
<B>basidiomycetous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or belonging to the basidiomycetes. </DL>
<A NAME="basidiospore">
<B>basidiospore, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> one of the spores produced on a basidium. </DL>
<A NAME="basidium">
<B>basidium, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ia.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Botany.) a small, club-shaped structure on basidiomycetes, generally the swollen terminal cell of a hypha, which produces spores, usually four, at the tips of minute stalks. </DL>
<A NAME="basifixed">
<B>basifixed, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Botany.) attached by the base or lower end. </DL>
<A NAME="basil">
<B>basil</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a sweet-smelling plant used in cooking; sweet basil. Basil is a tropical plant of the same family as the mint, and is added to soups, salads, meats, and other dishes to give a pleasant, spicy flavor. </DL>
<A NAME="basil">
<B>basil</B> (2), noun. <B>=basan.</B></DL>
<A NAME="basilar">
<B>basilar, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or situated at the base, especially the base of the skull. </DL>
<A NAME="basilary">
<B>basilary, </B>adjective. <B>=basilar.</B></DL>
<A NAME="basilian">
<B>Basilian, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with Saint Basil (330?-379?), a Greek father of the Christian church. </DL>
<A NAME="basilic">
<B>basilic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of or having to do with a basilica; resembling a basilica. <DD><B> 2. </B>of or having to do with a large vein on the inner side of the upper arm. <DD><B> 3. </B>royal; sovereign. </DL>
<A NAME="basilica">
<B>basilica, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an oblong hall with a row of columns at each side, separating the high main portion from the side aisles, and a structure in the shape of a half circle at one end, sometimes at both ends. The ancient Romans used such buildings for law courts and public meetings. <DD><B> 2a. </B>an early Christian church built in this form, with an apse at the east end. <DD><B> b. </B>any building of oblong plan, especially one having a high central portion. <DD><B> 3. </B>(in the Roman Catholic Church) a title conferred by the Pope on a church, giving it certain rights and privileges. </DL>
<B>basilican, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> basilic; of a basilica. </DL>
<A NAME="basilisk">
<B>basilisk, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>(in ancient and medieval legend) a reptile whose breath and look were thought to be fatal; cockatrice. It was supposed to be somewhat like a lizard, to have a black-and-yellow skin and fiery red eyes, and to be hatched by a serpent from an egg laid by a rooster. <DD><B> 2. </B>a tropical American lizard with a crest along its head and back, which it can raise and lower, related to the iguanas. <DD><I>adj. </I> like that of the legendary basilisk; fiery; blazing. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) basilisk wrath.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="basin">
<B>basin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a wide, shallow dish for holding liquids; bowl. <DD><B> 2. </B>the amount that a basin can hold. <BR> <I>Ex. They have wasted more than a basin of water already.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a shallow area containing water. <BR> <I>Ex. Part of the harbor is a yacht basin.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>all the land drained by a river and the streams that flow into it; river basin. <BR> <I>Ex. The Mississippi basin extends from the Appalachian Mountains to the Rocky Mountains.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>a depression where the rivers have no outlets. adj. <B>basinlike.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="basined">
<B>basined, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> enclosed in a basin. </DL>
<A NAME="basinet">
<B>basinet, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a kind of steel helmet common in the 1200's and 1300's that covered the back and sides of the neck. Also, <B>basnet.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="basingpoint">
<B>basing point,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a manufacturing or shipping center chosen as the base of a system of graduated prices or freight rates, regardless of actual shipping costs or similar factors. </DL>
<A NAME="basinrange">
<B>basin range,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a type of mountain range formed by the faulting and tilting of a block of strata. </DL>
<A NAME="basion">
<B>basion, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the middle anterior border of the foramen magnum of the skull. </DL>
<A NAME="basipetal">
<B>basipetal, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Botany.) developing from the apex downward toward the base. </DL>
<A NAME="basis">
<B>basis, </B>noun, pl. <B>bases.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the part on which anything stands for essential support; fundamental principle; foundation. <BR> <I>Ex. The basis of their friendship was a common interest in sports. We judge a worker on the basis of his performance.</I> (SYN) support. See also syn. under <B>base</B> (1). <DD><B> 2. </B>the main part; base. <BR> <I>Ex. The basis of his business is making watches but he also sells jewelry. The money he got from his father was the basis for a new business.</I> (SYN) groundwork, footing. <DD><B> 3. </B>the principal ingredient. <BR> <I>Ex. The basis of this medicine is an oil.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="bask">
<B>bask, </B>intransitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to warm oneself pleasantly. <BR> <I>Ex. The cat basks in the warm sunshine.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) to feel great pleasure. <BR> <I>Ex. He basked in the love of his family.</I> (SYN) luxuriate. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to warm pleasantly. <BR> <I>Ex. We basked ourselves in the sun.</I> noun <B>basker.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="baskerville">
<B>Baskerville, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of various styles of printing type based on those designed by John Baskerville (1706-1775), an English printer and type designer. </DL>
<A NAME="basket">
<B>basket, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a container made of twigs, grasses, fibers, strips of wood, or the like, woven together or made of plastic to imitate this. <BR> <I>Ex. Mother keeps the laundry in a clothes basket.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the amount that a basket holds. <BR> <I>Ex. We ate a basket of peaches.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>anything that looks like or is shaped like a basket. <BR> <I>Ex. This metal wastepaper basket is dented.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>the structure beneath a balloon for carrying passengers, ballast, or material of any sort. <DD><B> 5a. </B>a ring with a net shaped like a basket, but open at the bottom, used as a goal in basketball. <DD><B> b. </B>a score made in basketball by tossing the ball through this ring with a net. <DD><B> 6. </B><B>=basket hilt.</B> <DD><B> 7. </B>the ring on a ski pole to keep it from sinking into deep snow. <DD><B> 8. </B>a section of an agreement, or especially a diplomatic declaration, into which the parties to the negotiations include a variety of related proposals. <BR> <I>Ex. The 'basket' dealing with ... economics, science, technology and the environment was the least controversial (John C. Garnett).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to put in a basket. <BR> <I>Ex. to basket fruit for market.</I> adj. <B>basketlike.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="basketball">
<B>basketball, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a game played with a large, round ball between two teams of five players each. The players try to toss the ball through a ring into a net shaped like a basket but open at the bottom. The ball is dribbled, or thrown from player to player. <DD><B> 2. </B>the ball used in this game. </DL>
<A NAME="basketcase">
<B>basket case,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person who has lost both arms and both legs. <DD><B> 2. </B>(U.S. Informal.) a person who has had a mental breakdown; nervous wreck. <BR> <I>Ex. There are various degrees of mental illness and a person needn't be a basket case before he decides he should talk things over with a professional (Ann Landers).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="basketcell">
<B>basket cell,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> one of a layer of tiny, star-shaped cells in the cerebellum whose axons develop terminal branches in a basketlike pattern. </DL>
<A NAME="basketchair">
<B>basket chair,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a type of wicker chair. </DL>
<A NAME="basketcloth">
<B>basket cloth,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any fabric woven in imitation of the plaiting of a basket. </DL>
<A NAME="basketfish">
<B>basketfish, </B>noun, pl. <B>-fishes</B> or (collectively) <B>-fish.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of various small sea animals resembling a starfish, with slender rays divided into branches which frequently interlace to give a basketlike appearance; basketstar. </DL>
<A NAME="basketflower">
<B>basket flower,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an annual plant of the composite family, native to the southwestern United States, having involucres in the form of a basket. </DL>
<A NAME="basketful">
<B>basketful, </B>noun, pl. <B>-fuls.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> as much as a basket can hold. </DL>
<A NAME="baskethilt">
<B>basket hilt,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a sword hilt of strips of steel curved into basket shape to protect the hand. </DL>
<A NAME="basketmakers">
<B>Basket Makers,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of several North American Indian cultures of the southwestern United States that preceded the Pueblo. </DL>
<A NAME="basketmeeting">
<B>basket meeting,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) a religious meeting held in the form of a picnic. </DL>
<A NAME="basketofgold">
<B>basket-of-gold, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a perennial plant of the mustard family with yellow flowers and grayish foliage. </DL>
<A NAME="basketry">
<B>basketry, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the art of making baskets. <DD><B> 2. </B>basketwork; baskets. </DL>
