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BASIN
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A bowl-shaped vessel; usually used for holding food or liquids
Example:
she mixed the dough in a large basin
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("basin" is a kind of...):
vessel (an object used as a container (especially for liquids))
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "basin"):
aspersorium (the basin or other vessel that holds holy water in Roman Catholic Churches)
baptismal font; baptistery; baptistry; font (bowl for baptismal water)
bidet (a basin for washing genitals and anal area)
birdbath (an ornamental basin (usually in a garden) for birds to bathe in)
emesis basin (a basin used by bedridden patients for vomiting)
laver ((Old Testament) large basin used by a priest in an ancient Jewish temple to perform ritual ablutions)
stoop; stoup (basin for holy water)
handbasin; lavabo; wash-hand basin; washbasin; washbowl (a basin for washing the hands ('wash-hand basin' is a British expression))
Sense 2
Meaning:
A bathroom sink that is permanently installed and connected to a water supply and drainpipe; where you can wash your hands and face
Example:
he ran some water in the basin and splashed it on his face
Synonyms:
basin; lavatory; washbasin; washbowl; washstand
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("basin" is a kind of...):
sink (plumbing fixture consisting of a water basin fixed to a wall or floor and having a drainpipe)
Sense 3
Meaning:
The entire geographical area drained by a river and its tributaries; an area characterized by all runoff being conveyed to the same outlet
Example:
flood control in the Missouri basin
Synonyms:
basin; catchment area; catchment basin; drainage area; drainage basin; river basin; watershed
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Hypernyms ("basin" is a kind of...):
geographic area; geographic region; geographical area; geographical region (a demarcated area of the Earth)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "basin"):
detention basin (a storage site (such as a small reservoir) that delays the flow of water downstream)
retention basin (a storage site similar to a detention basin but the water in storage is permanently obstructed from flowing downstream)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A natural depression in the surface of the land often with a lake at the bottom of it
Example:
the basin of the Great Salt Lake
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)
Hypernyms ("basin" is a kind of...):
depression; natural depression (a sunken or depressed geological formation)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "basin"):
cirque; corrie; cwm (a steep-walled semicircular basin in a mountain; may contain a lake)
saltpan (a shallow basin in a desert region; contains salt and gypsum that was deposited by an evaporated salt lake)
tidal basin (a basin that is full of water at high tide)
Sense 5
Meaning:
The quantity that a basin will hold
Example:
a basinful of water
Synonyms:
basin; basinful
Classified under:
Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure
Hypernyms ("basin" is a kind of...):
containerful (the quantity that a container will hold)
Context examples:
Researchers found that thermokarst basins switched from a net radiative warming to a net cooling climate effect about 5,000 years ago.
(Certain Arctic lakes store more greenhouse gases than they release, NSF)
When I got back with the basin, the doctor had already ripped up the captain's sleeve and exposed his great sinewy arm.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
Harrison fumbled in his mouth with his finger and thumb, and then with a sharp half-turn he wrenched out a tooth, which he threw into the basin.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
An herbal supplement containing an extract from guarana (Paullinia cupana), a climbing plant of the Sapindaceae family which is native to the Amazon basin, with stimulant, antioxidant and potential chemoprotective activities.
(Guarana Supplement, NCI Thesaurus)
Basin formed by the downward movement of the earth's crust at a geological fault.
(Fault depression, NOAA Paleoclimate Glossary)
The basin covers about 40 percent of the planet’s surface.
(Mars May Have Had Rings, and May Once Again, VOA News)
But they also have an unusual characteristic important to DBC research; they are closed basins with no outlets.
(Antarctic lakes are a repository for ancient soot, NSF)
Imagine ponds dotting the floor of Gale Crater, the 100-mile-wide (150-kilometer-wide) ancient basin that Curiosity is exploring.
(NASA's Curiosity Rover Finds an Ancient Oasis on Mars, NASA)
The study centred on the River Bérchules basin (Granada), which is the easternmost tributary of the River Guadalfeo in the Alpujarra.
(Researchers demonstrate that Sierra Nevada is home to the oldest underground water recharge system in Europe, University of Granada)
“Have you dragged the basin of Trafalgar Square fountain?” he asked.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
