- 1 forming the part of something that is most necessary and from which other things develop basic information/facts/ideas the basic principles of law basic to something Drums are basic to African music.
- 2 of the simplest kind or at the simplest level The campsite provided only basic facilities. My knowledge of French is pretty basic.
- 3 [only before noun] necessary and important to all people basic human rights the cost of basic foods
- 4(especially British English) (usually North American English base) before anything extra is added The basic pay of the average worker has risen by 3 per cent. Word Originmid 19th cent.: from the noun base + -ic.Extra examples Aren’t food and shelter basic human rights? Before designing the house we planned the basic layout of the rooms. During the first term, we will concentrate on the basic principles of law. The basic idea is that we all meet up in London. The basic recipe can be adapted by adding grated lemon. The report sets out the cost of basic foods in several European countries. There is a basic fault in the design of the engine. There’s a basic contradiction in the whole idea of paying for justice. They haven’t even given us the most basic information we need.
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