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.
But already he's been stunned by one big thing - and it's not at all related to football - the sheer size of basically everything in the States.
From BBC • Jun. 19, 2026
"It's not two half-times, it is four quarter-times basically that we've got," said France coach Didier Deschamps.
From BBC • Jun. 18, 2026
“They’re basically in place for a while, probably,” said William English, a former senior Fed adviser who now teaches at the Yale School of Management.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 17, 2026
And then we get renewed, and then we have to basically write ourselves out of a corner.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2026
“I now realized there was an entire industry, called consumer finance, that basically existed to rip people off.”
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
