Your basal body temperature is your body temperature immediately upon rising in the morning.
One use of basal body temperature is a woman can tell if she has ovulated based on recording this temperature over time. Before a women ovulates, her basal body temperature is lower. Once she ovulates and her levels of progesterone rise, so does her basal body temperature.
There are special thermometers to measure BBT, but you can also just use a regular thermometer.