'Foundation' definitions:
Definition of 'foundation'
(from WordNet)
noun
The basis on which something is grounded; "there is little foundation for his objections"
noun
An institution supported by an endowment
noun
Lowest support of a structure; "it was built on a base of solid rock"; "he stood at the foot of the tower" [syn: foundation, base, fundament, foot, groundwork, substructure, understructure]
noun
Education or instruction in the fundamentals of a field of knowledge; "he lacks the foundation necessary for advanced study"; "a good grounding in mathematics" [syn: foundation, grounding]
noun
The fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained; "the whole argument rested on a basis of conjecture" [syn: basis, base, foundation, fundament, groundwork, cornerstone]
noun
A woman's undergarment worn to give shape to the contours of the body [syn: foundation garment, foundation]
noun
The act of starting something for the first time; introducing something new; "she looked forward to her initiation as an adult"; "the foundation of a new scientific society" [syn: initiation, founding, foundation, institution, origination, creation, innovation, introduction, instauration]
Definition of 'Foundation'
From: GCIDE
- Foundation \Foun*da"tion\, n. [F. fondation, L. fundatio. See Found to establish.]
- 1. The act of founding, fixing, establishing, or beginning to erect. [1913 Webster]
- 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; groundwork; basis. [1913 Webster]
- Behold, I lay in Zion, for a foundation, a stone . . . a precious corner stone, a sure foundation. --Is. xxviii. 16. [1913 Webster]
- The foundation of a free common wealth. --Motley. [1913 Webster]
- 3. (Arch.) The lowest and supporting part or member of a wall, including the base course (see Base course (a), under Base, n.) and footing courses; in a frame house, the whole substructure of masonry. [1913 Webster]
- 4. A donation or legacy appropriated to support a charitable institution, and constituting a permanent fund; endowment. [1913 Webster]
- He was entered on the foundation of Westminster. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]
- 5. That which is founded, or established by endowment; an endowed institution or charity; as, the Ford Foundation. [1913 Webster]
- Against the canon laws of our foundation. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
- Foundation course. See Base course, under Base, n.
- Foundation muslin, an open-worked gummed fabric used for stiffening dresses, bonnets, etc.
- Foundation school, in England, an endowed school.
- To be on a foundation, to be entitled to a support from the proceeds of an endowment, as a scholar or a fellow of a college. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'foundation'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- A,
- a priori principle,
- affirmation,
- alpha,
- anchorage,
- appanage,
- apriorism,
- arrangement,
- assertion,
- assumed position,
- assumption,
- axiom,
- basal,
- base,
- baseboard,
- basement,
- basic,
- basic training,
- basis,
- bearing wall,
- bed,
- bedding,
- bedrock,
- beginning,
- blast-off,
- bottom,
- briefing,
- call,
- categorical proposition,
- cause,
- cellar,
- chassis,
- clearing the decks,
- clown white,
- cold cream,
- colonization,
- commencement,
- compact,
- constitution,
- cosmetics,
- creation,
- cutting edge,
- dado,
- data,
- dawn,
- dot,
- dower,
- dowry,
- drugstore complexion,
- edge,
- effectuation,
- endowment,
- equipment,
- establishment,
- eye shadow,
- eyebrow pencil,
- familiarization,
- first principles,
- fixation,
- fixing,
- floor,
- flooring,
- flying start,
- fond,
- foot,
- footing,
- formation,
- foundation cream,
- foundational,
- founding,
- frame,
- fresh start,
- fundament,
- fundamental,
- good reason,
- greasepaint,
- ground,
- grounds,
- groundwork,
- hand cream,
- hand lotion,
- hardpan,
- hypothesis,
- hypothesis ad hoc,
- inauguration,
- inception,
- infrastructure,
- initiation,
- installation,
- installment,
- institute,
- instituting,
- institution,
- investiture,
- investment,
- jointure,
- jump-off,
- keel,
- kick-off,
- leading edge,
- legal jointure,
- lemma,
- lip rouge,
- lipstick,
- lodgment,
- major premise,
- makeready,
- makeup,
- making ready,
- manufacture,
- marriage portion,
- mascara,
- material basis,
- materialization,
- minor premise,
- mobilization,
- mooring,
- mopboard,
- mudpack,
- nadir,
- nail polish,
- new departure,
- oncoming,
- onset,
- opening,
- organization,
- organizing,
- origin,
- origination,
- outbreak,
- outset,
- paint,
- pavement,
- peopling,
- philosopheme,
- philosophical proposition,
- pillar,
- planning,
- plantation,
- population,
- portion,
- position,
- postulate,
- postulation,
- postulatum,
- powder,
- powder puff,
- prearrangement,
- preliminaries,
- preliminary,
- preliminary act,
- preliminary step,
- premise,
- prep,
- preparation,
- preparatory study,
- preparing,
- prepping,
- prerequisite,
- presupposition,
- pretreatment,
- primary,
- principle,
- processing,
- propaedeutic,
- proposition,
- propositional function,
- provision,
- puff,
- purpose,
- radical,
- raison d'etre,
- rationale,
- readying,
- realization,
- reason,
- rest,
- right,
- riprap,
- rock,
- rock bottom,
- rouge,
- rudiment,
- running start,
- seat,
- send-off,
- setting in motion,
- setting-up,
- settlement,
- settling,
- shoemold,
- sill,
- sole,
- solid ground,
- solid rock,
- spadework,
- square one,
- start,
- start-off,
- starting point,
- statement,
- stereobate,
- stylobate,
- substance,
- substratum,
- substruction,
- substructure,
- sumption,
- supposal,
- take-off,
- talcum,
- talcum powder,
- terra firma,
- theorem,
- thesis,
- thirds,
- toe,
- tower,
- training,
- treatment,
- trial,
- truth table,
- truth-function,
- truth-value,
- tryout,
- underbuilding,
- undercarriage,
- undergirding,
- underlying,
- underpinning,
- understruction,
- understructure,
- vanishing cream,
- vanity case,
- wainscot,
- war paint,
- warm-up,
- warrant