basic

¹

[ bey-sik ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or forming a base; fundamental:

   a basic principle; the basic ingredient.

   Synonyms: underlying, basal, primary, key, essential, elementary

2. Chemistry.
   1. pertaining to, of the nature of, or containing a base. bases.
   2. not having all of the hydroxyls of the base replaced by the acid group, or having the metal or its equivalent united partly to the acid group and partly to oxygen.
   3. alkaline.
3. Metallurgy. noting, pertaining to, or made by a steelmaking process basic process in which the furnace or converter is lined with a basic or nonsiliceous material, mainly burned magnesite and a small amount of ground basic slag, to remove impurities from the steel. Compare acid ( def 9 ).
4. Geology. (of a rock) having relatively little silica.
5. Military.
   1. primary:

      basic training.

   2. of lowest rank:

      airman basic.

6. Slang.
   1. (especially of a female) characterized by predictable or unoriginal style, interests, or behavior:

      those basic girls who follow trends.

   2. (of things) boringly predictable or unoriginal:

      His lyrics are just so basic.

noun

1. Military.
   1. basic training.
   2. a soldier or airman receiving basic training.
2. Often basics. something that is fundamental or basic; an essential ingredient, principle, procedure, etc.:

   to learn the basics of music; to get back to basics.

3. Slang. a person, especially a female, who is boringly predictable or unoriginal.

BASIC

²

[ bey-sik ]

noun

, Computers.

1. a widely adopted programming language that uses English words, punctuation marks, and algebraic notation to facilitate communication between the operator or lay user and the computer.

BASIC

¹

/ ˈbeɪsɪk /

noun

1. a computer programming language that uses common English terms

basic

²

/ ˈbeɪsɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or forming a base or basis; fundamental; underlying
2. elementary or simple

   a few basic facts

3. excluding additions or extras

   basic pay

4. chem
   1. of, denoting, or containing a base; alkaline
   2. (of a salt) containing hydroxyl or oxide groups not all of which have been replaced by an acid radical

      basic lead carbonate, 2PbCO3.Pb(OH)2

5. metallurgy of, concerned with, or made by a process in which the furnace or converter is made of a basic material, such as magnesium oxide
6. (of such igneous rocks as basalt) containing between 52 and 45 per cent silica
7. military primary or initial

   basic training

noun

1. usually plural a fundamental principle, fact, etc

BASIC

/ bā′sĭk /

1. A simple programming language developed in the 1960s that is widely taught to students as a first programming language.

Other Words From

• non·basic adjective
• quasi-basic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of basic¹

First recorded in 1835–45; base ¹ + -ic

Origin of basic²

First recorded in 1965–70; B(eginner's) A(ll-purpose) S(ymbolic) I(nstruction) C(ode)

Word History and Origins

Origin of basic¹

C20: acronym of b ( eginner's ) a ( ll-purpose ) s ( ymbolic ) i ( nstruction ) c ( ode )

Example Sentences

"The database serves as an important resource for both basic and applied research," he said.

From Science Daily

She added: “This is essential for us to understand and treat disease, cells are the basic unit of life, if things go wrong, they go wrong with our cells.”

From BBC

This will help advance our understanding of basic sEV biology and may aid in the development of new treatments for diseases, such as cancer.

From Science Daily

This suggests a "hybrid" nature of these death whistle sounds, combining a basic psychoaffective influence on listeners with more elaborate mental processes of sound symbolism, signifying the iconographic nature.

From Science Daily

In general, there are two basic variants for image processing.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• elemental
• essential
• key
• main
• necessary
• primary
• primitive
• underlying
• vital

About This Word

What else does basic mean?

In slang, basic characterizes someone or something as unoriginal, unexceptional, and mainstream. A basic girl—or basic b*tch as she is often insulted—is said to like pumpkin spice lattes, UGG boots, and taking lots of selfies, for instance.

Where did the term basic come from?

According to Green’s Dictionary of Slang, basic emerges as slang for someone or something as being “unexciting, unexceptional, or uneventful” in the 1970s. This is an outgrowth of the negative sense of basic as “plain and simple”

The slang especially stuck to women. In their 1984 song “Meeting in the Ladies Room,” the R&B girl group Klymaxx call a woman basic for making moves on another’s boyfriend.

The 2000s saw the rise of the term basic b*tch, or a woman who is uninteresting and mainstream in her tastes, interests, style, or personality. Comedian Lil Duval had a 2009 video about the basic b*tch. The 2011 song “Gucci Gucci” by Kreayshawn features the hook: “And we stunting like / Gucci Gucci, Louis Louis, Fendi Fendi, Prada / Basic b*tches wear that shit so I don’t even bother.”

Basic has since become associated with unlikeable, predictable, and ordinary things, especially associated with young white women.

How to use the term basic

While basic can describe anyone or anything considered disagreeably mainstream, it especially insults, as noted, young white women. As basic and basic b*tch spread in popular culture, some women aren’t oblivious to their supposed basic-ness but ironically embrace it.

i’m so basic. idc pic.twitter.com/8JJZEAr1I4

— | hannah rickard | (@rickardhannah) September 8, 2018

Has anyone seen my Gucci belt? I’m thinking of being more basic than usual tonight

— allie (@alleiigh) September 8, 2018

Note

This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.