Search results for 'bass':

bass¹ noun (basses) music 1 the lowest male singing voice. 2 a singer with such a voice. 3 a musical part written for such a voice or for an instrument of the lowest range. 4 colloq a bass instrument, especially a bass guitar or a double-bass • Introducing, on bass, Alan King. 5 a low frequency sound as output from an amplifier, etc • The bass is too heavy on this track; b a knob or dial that adjusts this sound • fiddled with the bass on the stereo. adj said of a musical instrument, voice or sound: low in pitch and range.
ETYMOLOGY: 15c as bas (see etymology of base²): the Italian form basso later influenced the spelling in musical contexts.

bass² noun (bass or basses) 1 a marine fish, found in European coastal waters, which has a greenish-grey body with silvery sides, spiny fins, and is an important commercial and sport fish. 2 any of various freshwater and marine fishes, especially N American species, which have spiny fins similar to those of the common bass.
ETYMOLOGY: 16c as bace: from Anglo-Saxon bærs perch.

bass guitar and (especially colloq) bass noun a guitar, usually an electric one, similar in pitch and range to the double-bass, frequently used in popular music bands to provide the bass sound and rhythm (see bass¹).