basin

UK: /ˈbeɪs^ən/ US: /ˈbeɪsən/ ,(bā′sən)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ba•sin /ˈbeɪsən/   n. [countable]

1. a round container shaped like a bowl to hold liquid.
2. the quantity that a basin can hold.
3. a hollow place containing water.
4. a sheltered area along a shore:
   a yacht basin.
5. an area of land drained by a river:
   the Amazon basin.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

ba•sin  (bā′sən), n. 

1. a circular container with a greater width than depth, becoming smaller toward the bottom, used chiefly to hold water or other liquid, esp. for washing.
2. any container of similar shape, as the pan of a balance.
3. the quantity held by such a container:
   We need another basin of water to dilute the mixture.
4. a natural or artificial hollow place containing water.
5. a partially enclosed, sheltered area along a shore, often partly man-made or dredged to a greater depth, where boats may be moored:
   a yacht basin.
6. Geology an area in which the strata dip from the margins toward a common center.
7. [Physical Geog.]
   • Geography a hollow or depression in the earth's surface, wholly or partly surrounded by higher land:
     river basin.
   • Geography See drainage basin. 
8. Botany the depression in an apple, pear, or other pome at the end opposite the stem.

• Late Latin bac(c)īnum (bacc(a) water vessel, back³ + -īnum -ine¹); perh. further related in Latin to beaker
• Old French
• Middle English bacin 1175–1225

ba′sin•al, adj. 
ba′sined, adj. 
ba′sin•like′, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

basin / ˈbeɪs^ən/ noun

1. a round container open and wide at the top with sides sloping inwards towards the bottom or base, esp one in which liquids are mixed or stored
2. Also called: basinful the amount a basin will hold
3. a washbasin or sink
4. any partially enclosed or sheltered area where vessels may be moored or docked
5. the catchment area of a particular river and its tributaries or of a lake or sea
6. a depression in the earth's surface
7. a part of the earth's surface consisting of rock strata that slope down to a common centre

Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French bacin, from Late Latin bacchīnon, from Vulgar Latin bacca (unattested) container for water; related to Latin bāca berry