Definition

1. Noun:
   • A bowl-shaped container: A round, open container, typically used for holding liquids, food, or for mixing.
   • A natural or artificial depression: A hollow or dip in the earth's surface, often containing water.
   • A geographical area drained by a river: The entire land area where all water runoff flows into a specific river system.
   • A fixed sink in a bathroom: A permanently installed sink for washing hands and face.

Examples of Usage

• As a container:
  • She filled the basin with warm water to wash the vegetables.
  • The recipe said to mix the ingredients in a large basin.
• As a geographical feature:
  • The Amazon River basin covers a vast area of South America.
  • They sailed across the calm basin of the lake.
• As a bathroom fixture:
  • He brushed his teeth at the basin.
  • Please clean the soap scum from the bathroom basin.

Advanced Usage

• "Catchment basin": A more technical term for the area that collects precipitation and drains it to a common outlet.
  • The city's water supply depends on the health of its catchment basin.
• "Tidal basin": A man-made or natural area where water levels change with the tides.
  • The famous cherry blossoms surround the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C.

Variants and Related Words

• Basinful (noun): The amount that a basin can hold.
  • He poured a basinful of water over his head to cool off.
• Washbasin (noun): Another term for a bathroom sink or basin.
  • The antique washbasin was made of porcelain.

Synonyms

• Bowl: A deep, round dish or container.
• Sink: A fixed basin with a water supply and drain, especially in a kitchen or bathroom.
• Depression: A sunken or low area in the land.
• Watershed: The area of land that drains into a particular body of water (similar to 'river basin').

Related Phrases

• River basin management: The planning and control of land and water resources in a specific drainage area.
  • River basin management is crucial for preventing floods.
• To basin out: (Geology) To form or erode into a basin-like shape.
  • Over millennia, the rock basined out under glacial pressure.

Related Idioms

• To throw the baby out with the bathwater: (While not containing 'basin', this idiom is conceptually related to the act of washing in a basin). It means to discard something valuable while trying to get rid of something unwanted.
  • In reforming the policy, we must be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Noun

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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
4. the quantity that a basin will hold
   • a basinful of water
5. a bowl-shaped vessel; usually used for holding food or liquids
   • she mixed the dough in a large basin