Meaning & use
bass
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Meanings
noununcountablemusic
The deep, low end of the musical range, or a voice, instrument or sound that sits in that range.
Grammar: Used without an article for the range: the bass is too loud; a bass is one singer or instrument.
Patterns
- the bass in something
- turn up the bass
Turn down the bass, because the neighbors can feel it through the wall.
The choir needs two more basses to balance the sopranos.
She plays bass in a jazz trio on weekends.
adjectivebefore a nounmusic
Having or producing a deep, low pitch.
Grammar: Always comes before the noun: a bass drum, not a drum that is bass.
Patterns
- a bass guitar
- a bass voice
He has a rich bass voice that fills the church.
The bass guitar gave the song its driving pulse.
A bass note rumbled under the melody.
nouncountable or uncountable
A spiny-finned fish, found in lakes, rivers or the sea, that people catch for sport and eat.
Grammar: The plural is usually bass too: we caught three bass; the fish served as food is uncountable.
Patterns
- catch a bass
He landed a large bass just before sunset.
We grilled sea bass with lemon and herbs.
Largemouth bass hide near fallen trees in the lake.
Word forms
| plural (music) | basses |
|---|---|
| plural (fish) | bass |
Common combinations
- bass guitar
- She saved up for a bass guitar and learned the riffs from her favorite band.
- double bass
- The double bass is almost as tall as the person playing it.
- bass line
- The bass line keeps the whole song moving.
- turn up the bass
- Can you turn up the bass a little on the speakers?
- sea bass
- The restaurant serves sea bass with roasted potatoes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- low
- Low describes any sound that is not high, while bass names the very bottom of the range and is the usual word for voices and instruments.
- deep
- Deep suggests a rich, full low sound, and it often describes a voice, whereas bass is the technical term used in music.
- baritone
- A baritone is a male voice between tenor and bass, so it is higher than a true bass.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: bass or base? bass or bass (fish)?
bass vs base
Base sounds the same as bass (the low sound) but means the bottom or foundation of something, so a bass guitar is never a base guitar.
bass vs bass (fish)
The fish is pronounced /bæs/ and rhymes with mass, while the musical word rhymes with face.
Practice
Which sentence uses bass to mean a deep sound?
Choose one answer.
Only the speakers sentence refers to low-pitched sound; the first and third refer to the fish, and the fourth should be base, the bottom of the statue.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bass”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.