air base

/ɛːɹ beiːs/

//ɛːɹ beiːs// noun

"air-base" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“air base” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A military airport, providing housing and support for aircraft and personnel.

Corpus desk

Index EN-air-base · air base · English

air base · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for air base
PropertyValue
Headwordair base
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɛːɹ beiːs/
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “air base” in English

air basesits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

air base is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ɛːɹ beiːs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A military airport, providing housing and support for aircraft and personnel.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for air base, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From air + base. The correct English form is air base, spelled A-I-R- -B-A-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A military airport, providing housing and support for aircraft and personnel.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how air base appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. American officers have observed how Chinese troops stationed at American air bases have frequently refused to shoot at Japanese raiding planes. Asked by an American officer for the reason for this behavior, a Chinese officer at Lao-ho-k’ou air base in Hupeh answered (November 1944): “Well you see, if we shot down a Jap plane, the Japs would be angry and w…

Etymology

From air + base.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "air base"?
"air base" is spelled A-I-R- -B-A-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɛːɹ beiːs/.
What does "air base" mean?
As a noun, "air base" means: A military airport, providing housing and support for aircraft and personnel.
How do you pronounce "air base"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "air base" is /ɛːɹ beiːs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "air base"?
From air + base. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list