basically

adv — 3 senses

basically

adv

US, UK /ˈbeɪ.sɪk.(ə.)li/ · Hong-Kong /ˈbeɪ.sɪk.koʊ.li/

Etymology From basic + -ally.

1

In a fundamental, essential or basic manner.

  • They've added some fancy features, but it's basically still a crappy car.
2

Essentially; mostly; pretty much.

3

Used to refer to the most important or fundamental point that the speaker is making or to indicate a generalization or simplification; sometimes tending towards a meaningless filler word.

  • I shouldn't have done it, basically.
  • To get your eyes tested, you should basically go to the optician's.
Synonyms
essentially, fundamentally, chiefly, more often than not

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.