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.
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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.
“Life as we know it has a fairly restricted temperature domain that basically relies on liquid water, at least in small amounts, and Titan’s surface is far too cold,” Lorenz said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
Thinking out loud and swallowing it back, basically.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
"The reason that this is happening, to be completely honest with you, is because TKO and Zuffa have basically convinced or tried to convince Turki that this fight is massive in America," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
“This is a supply chain that took years and years to architect and has basically fallen apart in 60 days. We are trying to put it back together as quickly as possible.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
It’s basically just pages and pages of questions I don’t know the answers to.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
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.
