# basis

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbeɪ.sɪs/ · frequency rank #1,626

## Definitions
1. A physical base or foundation.
2. A starting point, base or foundation for an argument or hypothesis.
3. An underlying condition or circumstance.
4. A regular frequency.
5. The difference between the cash price a dealer pays to a farmer for his produce and an agreed reference price, which is usually the futures price at which the given crop is trading at a commodity exchange.
6. In a vector space, a linearly independent set of vectors spanning the whole vector space.
7. Amount paid for an investment, including commissions and other expenses.
8. A collection of subsets ("basis elements") of a set, such that this collection covers the set, and for any two basis elements which both contain an element of the set, there is a third basis element contained in the intersection of the first two, which also contains that element.

## Etymology
From Latin basis, from Ancient Greek βάσις (básis), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷémtis, derived from Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- (whence also come). Doublet of base.

## Easily confused with
- **bis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/basis-vs-bis)
- **boss** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/basis-vs-boss)
- **bass** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/basis-vs-bass)
- **bats** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/basis-vs-bats)
- **Bois** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/basis-vs-bois)
- **bays** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/basis-vs-bays)
- **Bess** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/basis-vs-bess)
- **bask** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/basis-vs-bask)
- **buss** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/basis-vs-buss)
- **Basu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/basis-vs-basu)
- **bast** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/basis-vs-bast)
- **brass** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/basis-vs-brass)
- **Boris** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/basis-vs-boris)
- **baths** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/basis-vs-baths)
- **bates** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/basis-vs-bates)
- **busts** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/basis-vs-busts)
- **Basra** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/basis-vs-basra)
- **bests** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/basis-vs-bests)
- **beasts** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/basis-vs-beasts)
- **biases** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/basis-vs-biases)

## Common misspellings (7)
`absis`, `baiss`, `basiss`, `bassi`, `bassis`, `bbasis`, `bsais`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/basis