base

modif.

base

n.

1. A point from which action is initiated

   home, headquarters, camp, post, station, home base, base of operations, base camp, starting point, point of departure, field, landing field, strip, airport, airfield, airstrip, hangar, port, terminal, garrison, billet, center, depot, supply base, dock, harbor, anchorage, seat, base line.

2. The principal or basic ingredient

   chief constituent, core, essence, filler; see essence 1.

3. The bottom, thought of as a support

   foundation, support, bottom, pedestal, stand, bed, rest, foot, root, trunk, footing; see also foundation 2.

4. Foundation of a belief or statement

   basis, groundwork, underpinning, principle, authority; see also basis 1.

5. A goal, especially in baseball

   mark, bound, station, plate, post, goal, first base, first, second base, second, keystone*, third base*, third*, hot corner*, home plate*, platter*, corner*, bag*, sack*.

base, as compared here, refers to a part or thing at the bottom acting as a support or underlying structure the base of a lamp; basis, conveying the same idea, is the term preferred for nonphysical things the basis of a theory; foundation stresses solidity in the underlying or supporting thing and often suggests permanence and stability in that which is built on it the foundation of a house; groundwork, closely synonymous with foundation, is principally applied to nonphysical things the groundwork of a good education

off base*