Origin: Latin suffix -tion
Foundation has 8 different meanings across 1 category:
an institution supported by an endowment
"The local arts foundation recently announced a grant to support emerging painters in the community."
lowest support of a structure
"it was built on a base of solid rock"
"he stood at the foot of the tower"
education or instruction in the fundamentals of a field of knowledge
"he lacks the foundation necessary for advanced study"
"a good grounding in mathematics"
the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained
"the whole argument rested on a basis of conjecture"
a woman's undergarment worn to give shape to the contours of the body
"She reached for her old foundation, smoothing it over her dress before heading out to dinner."
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"
The act of founding, fixing, establishing, or beginning to erect.
"The team spent weeks on the foundation before they could lay a single brick for the new library."
In plain English: A foundation is the base or starting point that something needs to be built on.
"The company was built on a foundation of honesty and hard work."
Usage: Use "foundation" to describe the physical base of a building or the underlying principles supporting an idea, not the action of creating something. Avoid using it where you mean the process of starting or establishing, which requires words like "founding" or "establishment."
The word comes from the Old French fondacion, which was borrowed into Middle English as foundacioun. It originally meant "the act of founding" before evolving to describe a base or support structure.