foundational

American  

[foun-dey-shuh-nl] / faʊnˈdeɪ ʃə nl /

Rarely foundationary

adjective

1. of or relating to the basis or groundwork on which something rests or is built; needing to be understood or established at the beginning.

   We believe that fostering a strong local community is a foundational component of our inner-city scholarship program, guiding everything else we do.

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Other Word Forms

• foundationally
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of foundational

foundation ( def. ) + -al ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

foundational

The research represents one of the most comprehensive empirical tests yet of a foundational idea in evolutionary biology.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026

I am loath to disclaim the power that comes with symbols such as the flag, words such as freedom, and the attachments that adhere to foundational inheritances such as, yes, the Constitution.

From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026

Our field’s foundational laws, regulatory guidelines and ethical mandates stipulate that organ donation must never influence or interfere with the degree or timing of one’s medical care.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

“The bottom line is that the market is clearly favoring foundational security and infrastructure layers over legacy applications as artificial intelligence reshapes software business models.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

The result, a compact treatise titled Generation of Animals, would serve as a foundational text for human genetics just as Plato’s Republic was a founding text for political philosophy.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• central
• constitutional
• crucial
• elemental
• elementary
• essential
• indispensable
• integral
• intrinsic
• major
• necessary
• paramount
• principal
• radical
• significant
• structural
• theoretical
• underlying
• vital