foundation — English Dictionary

Noun

1. The act of founding, fixing, establishing, or beginning to erect.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Synonyms

   establishment

   Antonyms

   abolitiondissolutionruination

   Examples

   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.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Synonyms

   basisgroundworkunderbuildingunderframeworkwarp and weftunderpinning

   Examples

   More examples (2)

   Aye Madam to be sure that is the Provoking circumstance—without Foundation—yes yes—there's the mortification indeed—for when a slanderous story is believed against one—there certainly is no comfort like the consciousness of having deserved it——

   Since the launch early last year of […] two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. University brands built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the possibility that information technology will rapidly make their existing business model obsolete.

3. The result of the work to begin something; that which stabilizes and allows an enterprise or system to develop.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Figurative
   • Uncountable

   Synonyms

   groundworkplatformstage

   Examples

   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. 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.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

5. 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.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Synonyms

   basegroundwall

   Examples

   The foundations of this construction have been laid out.

   More examples (1)

   “Marge Gets A Job” opens with the foundation of the Simpson house tilting perilously to one side, making the family homestead look like the suburban equivalent of the Leaning Tower Of Pisa.

6. A donation or legacy appropriated to support a charitable institution, and constituting a permanent fund; endowment.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

7. That which is founded, or established by endowment; an endowed institution or charity.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. is the parent organization of the Wiktionary collaborative project.

8. Cosmetic cream roughly skin-colored, designed to make the face appear uniform in color and texture.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

9. A basis for social bodies or intellectual disciplines.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   Economics is a messy discipline: too fluid to be a science, too rigorous to be an art. Perhaps it is fitting that economists’ most-used metric, gross domestic product (GDP), is a tangle too.[…]But as a foundation for analysis it is highly subjective: it rests on difficult decisions about what counts as a territory, what counts as output and how to value it. Indeed, economists are still tweaking it.

Noun

1. the basis on which something is grounded

   Broader terms

   relation

   Examples

   there is little foundation for his objections

2. an institution supported by an endowment

   Broader terms

   financial institutionfinancial organizationfinancial organisation

3. lowest support of a structure

   Synonyms

   basefundamentfootgroundworksubstructureunderstructure

   Broader terms

   support

   Examples

   it was built on a base of solid rock

   he stood at the foot of the tower

4. education or instruction in the fundamentals of a field of knowledge

   Synonyms

   grounding

   Broader terms

   education

   Examples

   he lacks the foundation necessary for advanced study

   a good grounding in mathematics

5. the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained

   Synonyms

   basisbasefundamentgroundworkcornerstone

   Broader terms

   assumptionsuppositionsupposal

   Examples

   the whole argument rested on a basis of conjecture

6. a woman's undergarment worn to give shape to the contours of the body

   Synonyms

   foundation garment

   Broader terms

   undergarmentunmentionable

7. the act of starting something for the first time; introducing something new

   Synonyms

   initiationfoundinginstitutionoriginationcreationinnovationintroductioninstauration

   Broader terms

   beginningstartcommencement

   Examples

   she looked forward to her initiation as an adult

   the foundation of a new scientific society