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 (of a salt) containing hydroxyl or oxide groups not all of which have been replaced by an acid radical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 ongoing crisis also has made providing basic services a challenge.

From Salon

He suggested that more research was needed to see if a higher grade FFP3 mask offered more protection than a basic surgical mask in real-life hospital use, rather than in a laboratory.

From BBC

There are many things to be said here, about essential humanity united in the basic functions.

From New York Times

“I’m asking them to stand up for the basic, inherent dignity of all of us here in this building.”

From Los Angeles Times

They told the BBC they are receiving a poor service as the company fails to perform basic maintenance and administrative duties like weeding and grass cutting and have questioned charges such as "terrorism insurance."

From BBC

Related Words

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