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 - Also called: basinful
the amount a basin will hold a washbasin or sink any partially enclosed or sheltered area where vessels may be moored or docked the catchment area of a particular river and its tributaries or of a lake or sea a depression in the earth's surface a part of the earth's surface consisting of rock strata that slope down to a common centre
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
ba•sin /ˈbeɪsən/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- a round container shaped like a bowl to hold liquid.
- the quantity that a basin can hold.
- a hollow place containing water.
- a sheltered area along a shore: a yacht basin.
- an area of land drained by a river:the Amazon basin.
ba•sin
(bā′sən),USA pronunciation n.
ba′sin•al, adj.
ba′sined, adj.
ba′sin•like′, adj.
- 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.
- any container of similar shape, as the pan of a balance.
- the quantity held by such a container:We need another basin of water to dilute the mixture.
- a natural or artificial hollow place containing water.
- 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.
- Geologyan area in which the strata dip from the margins toward a common center.
- [Physical Geog.]
- Geographya hollow or depression in the earth's surface, wholly or partly surrounded by higher land:river basin.
- GeographySee drainage basin.
- Botanythe 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′sined, adj.
ba′sin•like′, adj.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'hand basin' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):