basically
Americanadverb
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in a way that involves or affects the fundamental character or condition.
The building needs a few repairs, but is basically sound.
-
as a recap of the main point or idea; if put simply or briefly.
Basically, her advice boils down to “Eat a sensible, balanced diet, and relax.”
adverb
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in a fundamental or elementary manner; essentially
strident and basically unpleasant
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(sentence modifier) in essence; in summary; put simply
basically we had underestimated mother nature
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of basically
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“You cannot have recursive self-improving AI that basically is able to improve itself and exceed human capability.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
Wholesale prices had been basically unchanged in the prior two months after a brief lull in the U.S.-Iran conflict resulted in cheaper oil.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
"Long-range one-way attack drones are basically a poor man's cruise missile," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
She’s unpredictable, and basically reinvents herself with each new record.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Figure 4.19: The interval patterns for major and natural minor scales are basically the same pattern starting at different points.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
