foundation
Pronunciation
  • (RP) IPA: /faʊnˈdeɪʃən/, [faʊ̯nˈdeɪ̯ʃn̩]
Noun

foundation

  1. The act of founding, fixing, establishing, or beginning to erect.
    Synonyms: establishment
    Antonyms: abolition, dissolution, ruination
    The foundation of his institute has been wrought with difficulty.
  2. That upon which anything is founded; that on which anything stands, and by which it is supported; the lowest and supporting layer of a superstructure; underbuilding.
    Synonyms: groundwork, basis
  3. (figurative) The result of the work to begin something; that which stabilizes and allows an enterprise or system to develop.
    Synonyms: groundwork, platform, stage
    • 2006, K P Yadav, Economic Planning And Restructuring, Sarup & Sons ISBN 9788176256285, page 44
      The implication is that the Gandhian model of growth is possible, now that Nehru's investment strategy had already laid a strong foundation for economic growth.
  4. (card games) In solitaire or patience games, one of the piles of cards that the player attempts to build, usually holding all cards of a suit in ascending order.
  5. (architecture) The lowest and supporting part or member of a wall, including the base course and footing courses; in a frame house, the whole substructure of masonry.
    Synonyms: base, groundwall
    The foundations of this construction have been laid out.
  6. A donation or legacy appropriated to support a charitable institution, and constituting a permanent fund; endowment.
  7. That which is founded, or established by endowment; an endowed institution or charity.
    The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. is the parent organization of the Wiktionary collaborative project.
  8. (cosmetics) Cosmetic cream roughly skin-colored, designed to make the face appear uniform in color and texture.
  9. A basis for social bodies or intellectual disciplines.
Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations
  • French: fond de teint
  • German: Foundation
  • Portuguese: base
  • Russian: тона́льный крем
  • Spanish: base



This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.003
Offline English dictionary