plural bass or basses
: any of numerous edible marine or freshwater bony fishes (especially families Centrarchidae, Serranidae, and Percichthyidae of the order Perciformes)
1
: deep or grave in tone
2
a
: of low pitch
b
: relating to or having the range or part of a bass
1
a
: the lowest voice part in a 4-part chorus
b
: the lower half of the whole vocal or instrumental tonal range compare treble entry 1
c
: the lowest adult male singing voice
also
: a person having this voice
d
: a member of a family of instruments having the lowest range
especially
: double bass
2
: a deep or grave tone : a low-pitched sound
1
2
: a coarse tough fiber from palms
Examples of bass in a Sentence
Adjective
the sound of the bass drum
a man with an impressive bass voice
Recent Examples on the Web
Bridget Crocker
june 6, Literary Hub, 6 June 2025
The Nightshift’s bass player at the time, Peter Rosen, had a day job with The Visual Thing, a poster and concert merchandise company owned by Steve Gold and Jerry Goldstein whose clients included Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones.
—Todd Longwell, Variety, 5 June 2025
About 35 seconds into the song, a deep bass line pushes far into sub-bass territory.
—PC Magazine, 4 June 2025
Fishermen recently learned that when a great white shark suddenly appeared, and chomped on a striped bass that was on their fishing line.
—Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 3 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for bass
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Noun
Atop snags struck dead by lightning, ospreys built their nests; their sharp calls reaching us like cymbals over bass line.
—Bridget Crocker
june 6, Literary Hub, 6 June 2025
The Nightshift’s bass player at the time, Peter Rosen, had a day job with The Visual Thing, a poster and concert merchandise company owned by Steve Gold and Jerry Goldstein whose clients included Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones.
—Todd Longwell, Variety, 5 June 2025
About 35 seconds into the song, a deep bass line pushes far into sub-bass territory.
—PC Magazine, 4 June 2025
Fishermen recently learned that when a great white shark suddenly appeared, and chomped on a striped bass that was on their fishing line.
—Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 3 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for bass
Cite this Entry
“Bass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bass. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bass
1 of 2 noun
plural bass or basses
: any of various spiny-finned freshwater or saltwater sport and food fishes
bass
2 of 2 noun1
a
: the lowest musical part in harmony for four parts compare alto sense 1b, soprano entry 2 sense 1, tenor sense 2a
b
: the lower half of a musical tone range compare treble
2
a
: the lowest male singing voice or a person who has this voice
b
: a person or instrument performing the bass part
bass
adjective
Etymology
Noun
Old English bærs "bass"
Noun
Middle English bas (adjective) "being or having a low solemn tone"
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