basic

¹ American  

[bey-sik] / ˈbeɪ sɪk /

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.

   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.

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.

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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 American  

[bey-sik] / ˈbeɪ sɪk /

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.

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BASIC ¹ British  

/ ˈbeɪsɪk /

noun

1. a computer programming language that uses common English terms

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basic ² British  

/ 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 (of a salt) containing hydroxyl or oxide groups not all of which have been replaced by an acid radical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

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noun

1. (usually plural) a fundamental principle, fact, etc

BASIC Scientific  

/ bā′sĭk /

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

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Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

• nonbasic adjective
• quasi-basic adjective

Etymology

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)

Explanation

What's basic is what's essential, at the root or base of things. If you've got a basic understanding of differential equations, you can handle simple problems but might get tripped up by more difficult ones. You can also speak of the basics. If your kitchen is outfitted with just the basics, you've got some bowls and pots and pans, but you probably don't have an apple corer or a candy thermometer. If you're hitchhiking across the Gobi Desert, you'll want to have the basics of conversational Mongolian down. You've probably heard basic in chemistry class, too: it's the opposite of acidic. A basic solution has a pH greater than 7 and turns litmus paper blue.

Example Sentences

Since I think soy sauce is definitely the most fundamental of Washoku’s basic seasonings, I believe we must preserve the traditional method for the next generation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

To simplify the problem, the researchers treated each robot as a basic unit with a small, adjustable amount of variation in its movement.

From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2026

Day-to-day upkeep like mowing the lawn, shoveling snow and even basic housekeeping can become burdensome or unsafe as physical limitations increase.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

“I think folks are catching on that it is time to go back to diversification and basic principles of investing,” he says.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

He began with sight-reading and mastering basic rhythms and pitches that gradually increased step by step to become more complex, sometimes by adding only one new note or rhythmic value at a time.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Related Words

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