bass

bass — noun

1. the deep end of the musical scale, covering the notes that sound lowest whether

1.nounB2
Definition

the deep end of the musical scale, covering the notes that sound lowest whether they are played on instruments or sung by voices.

Example

The cellos and tubas carry the bass through the slow opening movement.

uncountable: carry / play the bass

Mr. Park taught the choir how to keep the bass steady under the melody.

bass under / beneath the melody

Common collocations
  • carry the bass
  • play the bass line
  • sing bass
  • deep bass
  • rich bass
Synonyms
  • low end

    informal; often used by sound engineers

  • bottom end

    casual studio talk for the lowest part of the mix

Antonyms
  • treble

    the high end of the musical range; direct opposite

Usage Note

Almost always uncountable in this sense. Distinguish from sense 2 (a particular male singer) and sense 3 (low frequencies coming from a speaker).

Common Mistakes

I love the basses of this song.
I love the bass of this song.
for the low range of music, bass is uncountable, not pluralised.

2. a male singer whose natural voice reaches the very lowest notes a man can comfor

2.nounB2
Definition

a male singer whose natural voice reaches the very lowest notes a man can comfortably produce, or that voice itself.

Example

Greta has been singing as a bass in the church choir since she was sixteen.

sing as a bass

The opera house hired a Russian bass to perform the role of the king.

hire / cast a bass

Common collocations
  • sing bass
  • deep bass voice
  • professional bass
  • bass soloist
Synonyms
  • basso

    Italian-origin term used in opera contexts

  • bass-baritone

    narrower; a singer who covers both bass and lower baritone

Antonyms
  • tenor

    the high adult male voice

  • soprano

    the high adult female voice

Usage Note

Countable. Refers only to adult male voices; the female equivalent is contralto. Distinguish from sense 1, where bass is uncountable and refers to the part rather than the singer.

Common Mistakes

She sings bass in the choir.
She sings alto in the choir.
bass labels the lowest male voice; women use alto or contralto for low parts.

3. the deep, rumbling sound that comes out of a stereo, headphones, or other audio

3.nounB1
Definition

the deep, rumbling sound that comes out of a stereo, headphones, or other audio equipment when low frequencies are played.

Example

Priya turned up the bass until the floor of her apartment started to shake.

turn up / down the bass

These cheap earbuds have almost no bass, so songs sound flat.

have / lack bass (audio quality)

Common collocations
  • heavy bass
  • deep bass
  • boost the bass
  • bass response
Synonyms
  • low frequencies

    technical audio-engineering term for the same thing

  • lows

    shortened, common in producer and DJ talk

Antonyms
  • treble

    the high-frequency output of a speaker

Usage Note

Always uncountable. Pairs naturally with treble (high frequencies). Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is about the sound a device produces, not the musical part being performed.

Common Mistakes

My phone speaker has good basses.
My phone speaker has good bass.
for audio output, bass takes no plural even when describing multiple devices.

4. a tall, four-stringed electric guitar tuned an octave below a normal one, used i

4.nounB1
Definition

a tall, four-stringed electric guitar tuned an octave below a normal one, used in bands to lock in with the drums and add a deep pulse.

Example

Jamal bought a second-hand bass and started practising in his bedroom every night.

buy / play a bass (countable)

The bass holds the rhythm together while the guitarist improvises a solo.

the bass holds the rhythm

Common collocations
  • play bass
  • electric bass
  • four-string bass
  • pick up the bass
Synonyms

Usage Note

Often shortened from 'bass guitar'. Like other instruments, it is uncountable after 'play' (play bass) but countable when referring to a specific instrument (bought a bass, two basses on stage).

Common Mistakes

He plays the bass guitar with six strings.
He plays bass guitar with four strings.
a standard bass has four strings, not six (five- and six-string basses exist but are not the default).

5. the biggest bowed string instrument in an orchestra, often taller than the playe

5.nounB2
Definition

the biggest bowed string instrument in an orchestra, often taller than the player, that produces the deepest notes among the violin's relatives.

Example

Two musicians struggled to load the bass into the back of a small van.

load / carry a bass (large instrument)

The jazz bass at the back of the stage gave the band its warm, walking rhythm.

jazz bass (acoustic upright in jazz)

Common collocations
  • play the double bass
  • jazz bass
  • bow the bass
  • pluck the bass
Synonyms
  • double bass

    the unambiguous full name; preferred in classical contexts

  • upright bass

    common in jazz and folk to distinguish from the electric bass

  • contrabass

    formal term used in orchestral scores

Usage Note

Often called the double bass or upright bass to distinguish from the electric bass guitar in sense 4. Players either bow it (classical) or pluck it (jazz).

Common Mistakes

She carried the small bass on her shoulder.
She carried the small cello on her shoulder.
a double bass is too tall to carry on a shoulder; learners often confuse it with the cello.

6. any of several spiny-finned fish, found both in the sea and in lakes and rivers,

6.nounB2
Definition

any of several spiny-finned fish, found both in the sea and in lakes and rivers, that anglers catch for sport and people cook as a meal.

Example

Diego caught two large bass at the lake before sunrise on Saturday.

catch a bass / two bass (zero plural)

The chef grilled the bass with lemon, garlic, and a sprig of fresh rosemary.

grill / fry / bake bass

Common collocations
  • sea bass
  • striped bass
  • catch bass
  • grilled bass
  • fillet of bass
Synonyms
  • sea bass

    the saltwater varieties, common on restaurant menus

  • largemouth

    informal short name for largemouth bass, popular with US anglers

Usage Note

This sense is pronounced /bæs/ (rhymes with 'gas'), unlike the music senses which are pronounced /beɪs/ (rhymes with 'face'). The plural is usually 'bass' (zero plural), not 'basses'.

Common Mistakes

We caught five basses yesterday.
We caught five bass yesterday.
like 'fish' and 'deer', the fish sense of bass keeps the same form in the plural.

bass — adjective

Word family

  • bassist
    nounB2
  • bassline
    nounB2
  • bass-heavy
    adjectiveC1
  • double bass
    nounB2
  • subbass
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/3

When talking about audio output, bass is the standard word for everything at the deep end of the spectrum — what comes out of a subwoofer or the lower drivers of a speaker. Treble is its direct partner, naming the high-frequency sounds (cymbals, sibilants, violin overtones); the two are paired on almost every equaliser. Lows is studio shorthand used by producers and DJs and feels more technical than bass, often appearing alongside mids and highs. Boom is informal and slightly negative: it suggests bass that is too loud or muddy, like a poorly tuned car stereo on the street. Rumble describes a continuous, low, vibrating sound and is felt more than heard, used for things like distant thunder or a passing truck rather than the musical low end of a track. So a learner might say: 'My new speakers have rich bass but no treble, and the woofer adds a slight rumble during quiet scenes.'

bass ↗treblelowsboom ↗rumble

Common collocations

Nouns

  • bass line
  • bass player
  • bass section
  • bass clef
  • bass drum

Phrases

  • play bass
  • sing bass
  • turn up the bass
  • deep bass
  • sea bass

Prepositions

  • on bass (= playing the bass guitar in a band)

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishOld FrenchLate Latin

Two unrelated words ended up spelled the same in English. The music word comes from the Middle English 'bas', meaning low, borrowed from Old French and ultimately from Late Latin 'bassus' (low, short). It was originally a variant spelling of 'base' meaning low-pitched, and by the late 1400s the spelling 'bass' had settled in for the musical sense. The fish word is completely different: it comes from Old English 'bærs', a name for a spiny-finned river fish, related to the same root that gives us 'bristle'. The two words look identical today but are pronounced differently — /beɪs/ for music, /bæs/ for the fish — because they trace back to entirely different language families.