basin

Meanings

Plural: basins

Noun

• a bowl-shaped vessel; usually used for holding food or liquids
  • "she mixed the dough in a large basin"
• the quantity that a basin will hold
  • "a basinful of water"
• a natural depression in the surface of the land often with a lake at the bottom of it
  • "the basin of the Great Salt Lake"
• the entire geographical area drained by a river and its tributaries; an area characterized by all runoff being conveyed to the same outlet
  • "flood control in the Missouri basin"
• a bathroom sink that is permanently installed and connected to a water supply and drainpipe; where you can wash your hands and face
  • "he ran some water in the basin and splashed it on his face"
• A wide bowl for washing, sometimes affixed to a wall.
• A shallow bowl used for a single serving of a drink or liquidy food.
• A depression, natural or artificial, containing water.
• An area of land from which water drains into a common outlet; drainage basin.
• A shallow depression in a rock formation, such as an area of down-folded rock that has accumulated a thick layer of sediments, or an area scooped out by water erosion.

Verb

• To create a concavity or depression in.
• To serve as or become a basin.
• To shelter or enclose in a basin.

Synonyms

basinful, catchment area, catchment basin, drainage area, drainage basin, lavatory, river basin, sink, washbasin, washbowl, washstand, watershed

Related Words

Basin in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)