baseline
noun /ˈbeɪslaɪn/
  /ˈbeɪslaɪn/
 [usually singular]- (sport) a line marking each end of the court in tennis or the edge of the area where a player can run in baseball Topics Sports: ball and racket sportsc2
- (specialist) a line or measurement that is used as a starting point when comparing facts- The figures for 2014 were used as a baseline for the study.
 compare bassline