basic — English Dictionary

basic
Pronunciations (2)
  • /ˈbeɪsɪk/
  • ˈbeɪsɪk

Adjective

  1. Necessary, essential for life or some process.

    Examples

    Flour is a basic ingredient of bread.

    More examples (1)

    Over the past few weeks, U.S. Coast Guard service members, civilian employees and their families have had to scramble to pay for basic necessities. Many have taken donations of food and toiletries from their communities, and frantically called their banks and credit unions to try to avert financial disaster.

    Having access to the truth is a basic right of the general public.

  2. Elementary, simple, fundamental, merely functional.

    Examples

    The Hotel Sparta’s accommodation is very basic.

  3. Of or pertaining to a base; having a pH greater than 7.

    Synonyms
    Antonyms
  4. Unremarkable or uninteresting; boring; uncool.

    Usage
    • Informal
    Examples
    More examples (3)

    I'm not saying people are jealous of Hathaway because she is so perfect. Yes, she does have it all — husband, healthy career, good looks. But she doesn't do anything in an "awesome" way. She's basic.

    And what can be said about Ginny? She’s basic. My guess is that she spends her time drinking pumpkin spice lattes and watching “Pretty Little Liars.” The Chosen One is way out of her quidditch league.

    "I couldn't get into it, I could barely understand what he's saying – it had too much cursing and explicit language," said Cortnee Brandon. "I think his lyrics are easy...he's basic. Kendrick Lamar is kind of overrated."

    It [the online far right] feels full of righteous contempt for anything mainstream, conformist, basic.

Noun

  1. A necessary commodity, a staple requirement.

    Examples

    Rice is a basic for many Asian villagers.

  2. An elementary building block, e.g. a fundamental piece of knowledge.

    Synonyms
    Examples

    Arithmetic is a basic for the study of mathematics.

    I know the basics of sailing and would love to learn more.

  3. Basic training.

    Examples

    The drill sergeants gave him hell in basic.

    When I shipped out for basic, the Orbital Defense Grid was all theory and politics.

Adjective

  1. pertaining to or constituting a base or basis

    Antonyms
    Examples

    a basic fact

    the basic ingredients

    More examples (1)

    basic changes in public opinion occur because of changes in priorities

  2. reduced to the simplest and most significant form possible without loss of generality

    Examples

    a basic story line

    a canonical syllable pattern

  3. serving as a base or starting point

    Synonyms
    Examples

    a basic course in Russian

    basic training for raw recruits

    More examples (2)

    a set of basic tools

    an introductory art course

  4. of or denoting or of the nature of or containing a base

Noun

  1. (usually in the plural) a necessary commodity for which demand is constant

    Synonyms
Word forms
more basicmost basicbasics

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