basement

UK /ˈbeɪs.mənt/ US /ˈbeɪs.mənt/ Syllables: base-ment

Pronunciation

Noun A1 Beginner Neutral

The floor of a building that is partly or fully below ground level.

A basement is the floor of a building that is partly or fully below ground level. People use a basement to store boxes, keep tools or put a washing machine. Some basements are made into extra rooms for a game room, a bedroom or an office. A basement can be cool and damp, so many have a heater. In a shop, the basement may hold goods or be a sales floor. The word is used in the United States and Britain, and the British also say cellar for a cold one.

"We store the holiday decorations in boxes in the basement."

Example sentences

"We keep our winter coats in the basement."

Level A2
"The kids play ping pong in the basement."

Level A2
"Water leaked into the basement after the storm."

Level B1
"They rent a small basement apartment."

Level B1

Look-alikes and common mistakes

cellar : A cellar is a cold, dark room under a house, often for storage. A basement is bigger and can be lived in.
attic : An attic is under the roof. A basement is below the ground.

Word family and forms

Forms: basements

base cellar basement flat

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "basement".

in the basement
a basement apartment
a flooded basement
a finished basement
the basement floor
a damp basement

Origin

Basement is made from base plus the ending -ment, and it is first recorded in English in the 1720s and 1730s. The word began in building, where it meant the lowest part of a structure, its base.

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Dictionary.com.

How to remember it

Basement is base plus ment. A basement is the base of the house, under the other floors.

Test yourself

Which word fits the gap? "We keep our winter coats in the _____."

Answer: basement

In your own words, what does "basement" mean?