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
Derived 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.
“When I’m working, I just don’t cook at all basically, and then when I get time off I like to putter around in the kitchen. I’m not very good, but I like to do it.”
From MarketWatch • Jun. 11, 2026
"They are not and cannot be the problem. So, migrants are basically being scapegoated," Okey-Uche added.
From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026
"And it's basically a sea of ions, which is why we base our technology around it, so we can pull those ions out into an electrospray."
From Science Daily • Jun. 10, 2026
“The very first year you’re supposed to water regularly, and I did not hand-water enough, so everything basically died. The water bill went down dramatically, though.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
One of the most useful of these is the scale based on the dorian mode, which is often called the dorian minor, since it has a basically minor sound.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
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.
