basically

American  

[bey-sik-lee] / ˈbeɪ sɪk li /

adverb

1. in a way that involves or affects the fundamental character or condition.

   The building needs a few repairs, but is basically sound.

2. 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.”

---

basically British  

/ ˈbeɪsɪklɪ /

adverb

1. in a fundamental or elementary manner; essentially

   strident and basically unpleasant

2. (sentence modifier) in essence; in summary; put simply

   basically we had underestimated mother nature

---

Other Word Forms

• quasi-basically adverb

Etymology

Origin of basically

First recorded in 1900–05; basic + -ally

Example Sentences

"A lot of these strategies were basically 'turned-off' during the pandemic and the few years after, and have slowly come back," he added.

From BBC

“We generally average about one or so big nor’easters a year. And we went a couple years in a row with basically none of them,” Bassill said.

From The Wall Street Journal

"When you have so much trauma to one area of your body that there's too much blood and it gets stuck and it basically crushes everything," Vonn said in her post.

From Barron's

“The insurance industry has basically lobbied to keep that data anonymous at the company level, and I think it’s really important to make that information public,” Wolff said.

From Los Angeles Times

"I'd be basically talking to myself because they weren't responding," she said.

From BBC

Related Words

• essentially
• mostly