basket

UK: /ˈbɑːskɪt/ US: /ˈbæskɪt/ ,(bas′kit, bä′skit)

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

bas•ket /ˈbæskɪt/   n. [countable]

1. a container made of flexible, woven material.
2. anything like a basket in shape or use:
   a wastepaper basket.
3. Sport
   • an open net hanging from a metal hoop in basketball.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

bas•ket  (bas′kit, bä′skit), n. 

1. a container made of twigs, rushes, thin strips of wood, or other flexible material woven together.
2. a container made of pieces of thin veneer, used for packing berries, vegetables, etc.
3. the amount contained in a basket;
   a basketful:
   to pick a basket of apples.
4. anything like a basket in shape or use:
   He never empties my wastepaper basket.
5. any group of things or different things grouped as a unit;
   a package;
   package deal:
   You can't buy the single stock; you have to take the basket--all companies, stocks and bonds.
6. the car or gondola suspended beneath a balloon, as for carrying passengers or scientific instruments into the atmosphere.
7. Sport [Basketball.]
   • an open net suspended from a metal rim attached to the backboard and through which the ball must pass in order for a player to score points.
   • Sport a score, counting two for a field goal and one for a free throw.
8. Sport Also called snow ring. [Skiing.] a ring strapped to the base of a ski pole to limit penetration of the pole in the snow.
9. Slang Terms (vulgar). the male genitals, esp. when outlined by a tight-fitting garment.

• British Celtic
• Latin bascauda basin, perh.
• early Romance *baskauta ( French dialect, dialectal bâchot, bachou wooden or interwoven vessel, Old High German baskiza box)
• Middle English basket(te) 1250–1300

bas′ket•like′, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

basket / ˈbɑːskɪt/ noun

1. a container made of interwoven strips of pliable materials, such as cane, straw, thin wood, or plastic, and often carried by means of a handle or handles
2. Also called: basketful the amount a basket will hold
3. something resembling such a container in appearance or function, such as the structure suspended from a balloon
4. an open horizontal metal hoop fixed to the backboard, through which a player must throw the ball to score points
5. a point or points scored in this way
6. a group or collection of similar or related things: a basket of currencies
7. 
   a euphemism for bastard1,
8. the list of items an internet shopper chooses to buy at one time from a website: add these items to your basket

Etymology: 13th Century: probably from Old Northern French baskot (unattested), from Latin bascauda basketwork holder, of Celtic origin