back to basics

adverb

back to fundamental principles

“You can't teach them calculus when they can't add up; let's get back to basics.”

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Meanings

adverbback to basics (not comparable)

alternative back-to-basics

  1. not comparableback to fundamental principles

    You can't teach them calculus when they can't add up; let's get back to basics.

    1 more example

    While Strachan’s men have succeeded in adopting a more expansive, fluid style of play in recent times, it was very much a case of back to basics for this one.

    2014 November 14, Stephen Halliday, “Scotland 1-0 Republic of Ireland: Maloney the hero”, in The Scotsman
nounback to basics (uncountable)

alternative back-to-basics

  1. UKuncountablegovernmentA conscious return to principles such as self-respect, decency and honesty; especially the discredited policy of the Conservative government in the 1990s.

Origin

From back + to + basics.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

back to basics. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/back%20to%20basics

MLA

“back to basics.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/back%20to%20basics. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “back to basics,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/back%20to%20basics.

Source: back to basics on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.