“The house has a finished foundation with a pool table.”
Usage Entry 1264 / 1350 60-second read
Foundation vs. Basement
The concrete base a building sits on versus a habitable floor below ground.
The comparisoni
“The house has a finished basement with a pool table — the foundation is the concrete footing; the basement is the room.”
The ruleii
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FOUNDATION = footing. BASEMENT = room.
FOUNDATION is the concrete or stone base that supports the building — usually not habitable. BASEMENT is a floor of the building below ground level, used for storage or as living space. Every building has a foundation; not every building has a basement.
Memory aidiii
Remember it like this
Foundation holds. Basement lives.