baseline

noun, often attributive base·line \ ˈbās-ˌlīn \

Updated on: 4 Dec 2017

Definition of baseline

1 : a line serving as a basis; especially : one of known measure or position used (as in surveying or navigation) to calculate or locate something

2 a : either of the lines on a baseball field that lead from home plate to first base and third base and are extended into the outfield as foul lines

b : basepath

3 : a boundary line at either end of a court (as in tennis or basketball)

4 : a usually initial set of critical observations or data used for comparison or a control

5 : a starting point

the baseline of this discussion

See baseline defined for English-language learners

See baseline defined for kids

Examples of baseline in a Sentence

The experiment is meant only to provide a baseline for other studies.
any year or event we use as the baseline for the Renaissance is going to be at least somewhat arbitrary

Recent Examples of baseline from the Web

Still, both of our scenarios are an improvement on the baseline, for a basic reason: GDP would be a lot higher under both.

— shawn tully, Fortune, "Why Trump’s Tax Reforms Won’t Fix America’s Federal Budget Mess," 26 Sep. 2017
With a pair of Jayhawks defenders in his face, Missouri freshman Michael Porter Jr. drove along the baseline and put a floater in the air, which bounced off the rim.

— alex schiffer, kansascity, "Mizzou freshman Jeremiah Tilmon shows off post skills in debut vs. KU," 23 Oct. 2017
Head coach Chris Mack surveyed the action from the baseline while assistants Travis Steele and Luke Murray guided the Blue and White teams, respectively.

— patrick brennan, Cincinnati.com, "Musketeer Madness draws big crowd for Xavier men's, women's hoops," 20 Oct. 2017
Thus the total of Chargers* fans at these games is merely 10,000-15,000, whereas in San Diego, the team’s home from 1961-2016, a baseline of about 40,000 loyalists was typical.

— tom krasovic, sandiegouniontribune.com, "NFL/Spanos tout long game — but L.A.'s short game stinks," 1 Oct. 2017
For the government to be considering solar for backup electricity generation proves that the tech has reached a baseline of reliability and efficiency.

— avery thompson, Popular Mechanics, "The Military Could Be About to Make Solar Power Way Better," 26 Sep. 2017
This would reset the baseline of the health-care debate.

— james f. blumstein, WSJ, "How to End ObamaCare in Two Pages," 18 Sep. 2017
This year’s scores will help set a baseline for how much schools, including the subgroups, will need to improve each year to reach that target.

— paige cornwell, The Seattle Times, "Washington students hold steady on state tests, but no big improvements in any grade or subject," 7 Sep. 2017
But whatever the baseline, these figures seem destined to fall steeply as a new generation rises.

— The Economist, "A majority of Britons now follow no religion," 6 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'baseline.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of baseline

circa 1556

baseline Synonyms

Synonyms

alpha, beginning, birth, commencement, dawn, day one, genesis, get-go (also git-go), inception, incipience, incipiency, kickoff, launch, morning, nascence, nascency, onset, outset, start, threshold

Antonyms

close, conclusion, end, ending, omega

Related Words

drawing board, first base, ground zero, square one; creation, founding, inauguration, initiation, institution, origination; cradle, fountain, fountainhead, germ, origin, root, seedbed, source, spring, well, wellspring; dawning, opening; advent, appearance, arrival, debut (also début), emergence; childhood, infancy, youth

Near Antonyms

cessation, closing, closure, completion, finale, finish, period, stop, termination, windup

BASELINE Defined for English Language Learners

baseline

noun

Definition of baseline for English Language Learners

: information that is used as a starting point by which to compare other information
: a line at either end of the playing area in games like basketball and tennis
baseball : either one of the lines that lead from home plate to first base and third base