bask

present singular third person basks · participle present basking · participle past basked · past basked

1. intransitiveusuallyTo bathe in warmth; to be exposed to pleasant heat.

   to bask in the sun

   3 more examples

   She shivered until she got to the cozy fireplace, where she could bask in the heat coming off it.

   The naked Negro, panting at the line, / Baſks in the glare, or ſtems the tepid wave, / And thanks his Gods for all the good they gave.

   1764 December 19 (indicated as 1765), Oliver Goldsmith, The Traveller, or A Prospect of Society. A Poem. […], London: […] J[ohn] Newbery, […], →OCLC, page 5

   There will be no problems with visibility, or the highly changeable Highland weather, as Scotland basks in what is reported to be the country's hottest September day for more than a century.

   2021 October 20, Paul Stephen, “Leisure and Pleasure on the Far North Line”, in RAIL, number 942, page 48

   1. intransitiveusuallyTo expose oneself to heat, especially sunlight, in order to raise body temperature, as a form of thermoregulation.

      My lizard likes to spend his days basking on the stone near the lamp.

2. figurativelyintransitiveusuallyTo take great pleasure or satisfaction; to feel warmth or happiness.

   I basked in her love.

   3 more examples

   to bask in someone’s favour

   As President Obama turns his attention once again to filling out a cabinet and writing an Inaugural Address, this much is clear: he should not expect to bask in a surge of national unity, or to witness a crowd of millions overrun the Mall just to say they were there.

   2012 November 7, Matt Bai, “Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds”, in New York Times

   On this evidence they will certainly face tougher tests, as a depleted Newcastle side seemed to bask in the relative security of being ninth in the table

   2011 April 10, Alistair Magowan, “Aston Villa 1 - 0 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport

plural basks

1. The act of bathing in warmth.

   Most cats enjoy a bask in the sunshine.

2. collectiveA group of crocodiles.

   After crossing half a kilometre, we saw a bask of crocodiles sleeping at the river bank.

   2021, Ramani Ranjan Khuntia, Don't Kill Me: Earth Is My Mother, Notion Press

   2 more examples

   The threat of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to health systems in subSaharan Africa (SSA) can be compared metaphorically to a lake in Africa infested with a bask of crocodiles and the saying “the eye of the crocodile.”

   2020 March, “COVID-19 threatens health systems in sub-Saharan Africa: the eye of the crocodile”, in Journal of Clinical Investigation, volume 130, number 6, page 2741

   the bask of crocodiles is presented from above, while the herd of hippos is shown in profile.

   2011, Diana Craig Patch, Marianne Eaton-Krauss, Susan J. Allen, Dawn of Egyptian Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, page 32