baste
/beɪst/verb, noun
baste is spelled B-A-S-T-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,074th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, baste means “To sew with long or loose stitches, as for temporary use, or in preparation for gathering the fabric” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in baste?
| Letters | 5: B-A-S-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 60,074th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is baste?
Baste appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,074th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce baste?
- /beɪst/
Baste has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-baste.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with baste
Sounds like: based (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with baste?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as baste.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: beast, beats, tabes.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of baste
- bastes present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- basting participle, present
- basted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does baste mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To sew with long or loose stitches, as for temporary use, or in preparation for gathering the fabric.
- 2
To sprinkle flour and salt and drip butter or fat on, as on meat in roasting.
- 3
To coat over something.
- 4
To mark (sheep, etc.) with tar.
- 5
archaicslangTo beat with a stick; to cudgel.
July 1660, Samuel Pepys, Diaries One man was basted by the keeper for carrying some people over on his back through the waters.
noun
- 1
A basting; a sprinkling of drippings etc. in cooking.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Baste in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does baste come from?
Late Middle English, from Old French bastir (“build, construct, sew up (a garment)”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).