FUNDAMENT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does fundament mean? 

• FUNDAMENT (noun)
  The noun FUNDAMENT has 3 senses:

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

2. the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on

3. lowest support of a structure

  Familiarity information: FUNDAMENT used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FUNDAMENT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

base; basis; cornerstone; foundation; fundament; groundwork

Context example:

the whole argument rested on a basis of conjecture

Hypernyms ("fundament" is a kind of...):

assumption; supposal; supposition (a hypothesis that is taken for granted)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fundament"):

meat and potatoes (the fundamental part)

Holonyms ("fundament" is a part of...):

explanation (thought that makes something comprehensible)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The fleshy part of the human body that you sit on

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

arse; ass; backside; behind; bottom; bum; buns; butt; buttocks; can; derriere; fanny; fundament; hind end; hindquarters; keister; nates; posterior; prat; rear; rear end; rump; seat; stern; tail; tail end; tooshie; tush

Context example:

are you going to sit on your fanny and do nothing?

Hypernyms ("fundament" is a kind of...):

body part (any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity)

Holonyms ("fundament" is a part of...):

body; torso; trunk (the body excluding the head and neck and limbs)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Lowest support of a structure

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

base; foot; foundation; fundament; groundwork; substructure; understructure

Context example:

he stood at the foot of the tower

Hypernyms ("fundament" is a kind of...):

support (supporting structure that holds up or provides a foundation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fundament"):

bed (a foundation of earth or rock supporting a road or railroad track)

mat; raft; raft foundation (a foundation (usually on soft ground) consisting of an extended layer of reinforced concrete)

Holonyms ("fundament" is a part of...):

construction; structure (a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts)

 Context examples 

But when the disease was more stubborn and violent, he let in the muzzle while the bellows were full of wind, which he discharged into the body of the patient; then withdrew the instrument to replenish it, clapping his thumb strongly against the orifice of then fundament; and this being repeated three or four times, the adventitious wind would rush out, bringing the noxious along with it, (like water put into a pump), and the patient recovered.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)