bass

comparative basser · superlative bassest · alternative dated base

1. Of sound, a voice or an instrument, low in pitch or frequency.

   The giant spoke in a deep, bass, rumbling voice that shook me to my boots.

plural basses · alternative dated base

1. A low spectrum of sound tones.

   Peter adjusted the equalizer on his audio equipment to emphasize the bass.

2. entertainmentA section of a musical group that produces low-pitched sound, lower than the baritone and tenor.

   The conductor preferred to situate the bass in the middle rear, rather than to one side of the orchestra.

3. entertainmentOne who sings in the bass range.

   Halfway through middle school, Edgar morphed from a soprano to a bass, much to the amazement and amusement of his fellow choristers.

   Synonyms: basso

4. entertainmentAn instrument that plays in the bass range, in particular a bass guitar, double bass, electric bass, or bass synthesiser.

   The musician swung the bass over his head like an axe and smashed it into the amplifier, creating a discordant howl of noise.

5. music notationThe clef sign that indicates that the pitch of the notes is below middle C.

   The score had been written without the treble and bass, but it was easy to pick out which was which based on the location of the notes on the staff.

   Synonyms: bass clef, F clef

present singular third person basses · participle present bassing · participle past bassed · past bassed · alternative dated base

1. transitiveTo sound in a deep tone.

   […] and the Thunder / (That deepe and dreadfull Organ-Pipe) pronounc'd / The name of Proſper : it did baſe my Treſpaſſe

   1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii], lines 99-99

plural basses · alternative archaic basse

1. countableuncountableThe perch; any of various marine and freshwater fish resembling the perch, all within the order of Perciformes.

plural basses

1. countableuncountableThe fibrous inner bark of the linden or lime tree, used for making mats.
2. countableuncountableFibers from other plants, especially palm trees
3. countableuncountableAnything made from such fibers, such as a hassock, basket or thick mat.

   BASS, 1, a door mat

   [1865, William Stott Banks, A List of Provincial Words in use at Wakefield in Yorkshire, Wakefield: J.R.Smith, page 6

   1 more example

   I set off half-heartedly, as best I could sheltering my spare clothes (which were in the straw fish-bass) under my coat. […] The rain made a channel from my trilby down my neck and one handle of the fish-bass gave way.

   1982 [1980], J. L. Carr, A Month in the Country, Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books/Harvester Press, →ISBN, page 2

1. A surname.
2. A place name:
   1. A rural town in Bass Coast Shire, Victoria, Australia, named after George Bass.
   2. An unincorporated community in Jackson County, Alabama.
   3. An unincorporated community in Newton County, Arkansas.
   4. An unincorporated community in Casey County, Kentucky.
   5. An unincorporated community in Cole County, Missouri.
   6. An unincorporated community in Hardy County, West Virginia, named for the presence of bass (fish) in the local creek.