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• basic
  basic

  adjective

  of, relating to, or forming a base; fundamental.
• BASIC
  BASIC

  noun

  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.

SEE ALSO:

Slang dictionary results for basic.

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

See Examples For:

basic BASIC

In the last two decades, China has transformed from a basic manufacturer of generics and precursor chemicals into a hotbed of scientific discovery, boosted by government support and low operating costs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

We began working through basic hapkido hand techniques, defenses designed to control an attacker through redirection of force.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

At the most basic level, a fever is the body’s response to something unknown, the beginning of a complex process that targets an infection to ultimately kill it.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

"No attention appeared to have been given to her basic hygiene needs," said Barnes.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

I was not sure if this was due to awe, fear, or basic idiocy.

From "Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat" by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth

The machine allowed computer scientists at Dartmouth College to develop the programming language BASIC, which would be essential to the rise of personal computers in the 1970s and 1980s.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 28, 2020

Besides the computer science course that Alsup made him take, he already knew HTML, Javascript, CSS, BASIC, and a “tiny bit of” both Python and perl before he ever applied to clerk for Alsup.

From The Verge ● Oct. 19, 2017

They built a programming language called BASIC, which became the foundational code for Altair 8800.

From Time ● Jul. 28, 2015

That one line, a seemingly clumsy scrap of BASIC, generates a fascinatingly complicated maze on a Commodore 64.

From Slate ● Nov. 30, 2012

“Hello” wasn’t a valid command in BASIC, the only language the ancient computer understood.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Related Words

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