n. The act of founding, originating, or beginning to raise or build; the act of establishing.n. The solid ground or substructure on which the walls of a building rest; also, the lowest division of the building or wall, which is generally below the surface of the ground.n. Hence The basis or groundwork of anything; that on which anything stands and by which it is supported or confirmed.n. A fund invested for a benevolent or charitable purpose; a donation or legacy for the support of an institution, as a school or hospital, or of some specific object, as a college professorship, a ward in a hospital, etc.; an endowment.n. That which is founded or established by endowment; an endowed institution or charity.n. In crochet, knitting, etc., the first stitches put upon the needles, to which all that follows is secured.n. Same as foundation-muslin and -net.n. In apiculture, a sheet of wax, artificially shaped to resemble the foundation of a comb, attached to the slats or bars of a hive, or placed in a honey-frame, to induce the bees to build combs where desired; a guide-comb.n. In ship-building, any part of a ship's structure which is built up or specially reinforced to support heavy weights, as engines and boilers, turrets, guns, boat-cranes, etc.