Definition of 'fundamental'
1. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
2. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
3. adjective
If one thing is fundamental to another, it is absolutely necessary to it, and the second thing cannot exist, succeed, or be imagined without it.
4. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
5. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
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Word Frequency
fundamental in British English
adjective
1.
noun
5.
teaching small children the fundamentals of road safety
They agree on fundamentals, like the need for further political reform.
6.
a.
the principal or lowest note of a harmonic series
7. Also called: fundamental frequency, first harmonic physics
a.
the component of lowest frequency in a complex vibration
b.
the frequency of this component
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
fundamentality (ˌfundamenˈtality) or fundamentalness (ˌfundaˈmentalness) noun
Word Frequency
fundamental in American English
adjective
1.
of or forming a foundation or basis; basic; essential
the fundamental rules of art
6. Physics
designating or of a fundamental
noun
8. Music
a.
the lowest, or root, tone of a chord
b.
the prime or main tone of a harmonic series
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
fundamentally (ˌfundaˈmentally)
adverb
Word Frequency
fundamental in American English
(ˌfʌndəˈmentl)
adjective
1.
serving as, or being an essential part of, a foundation or basis; basic; underlying
fundamental principles
the fundamental structure
3.
being an original or primary source
a fundamental idea
4. Music (of a chord)
having its root as its lowest note
noun
SYNONYMS 1. indispensable, primary.5.
a basic principle, rule, law, or the like, that serves as the groundwork of a system; essential part
to master the fundamentals of a trade
6. Also called: fundamental note, fundamental tone Music
a.
the root of a chord
b.
the generator of a series of harmonics
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
fundamentality or fundamentalness noun
fundamentally
adverb
Examples of 'fundamental' in a sentence
fundamental
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In other languages
fundamental
British English: fundamental
ADJECTIVE /ˌfʌndəˈmɛntəl/
You use fundamental to describe things, activities, and principles that are very important or essential.
Our constitution embodies all the fundamental principles of democracy.
- American English: fundamental /fʌndəˈmɛntəl/
- Brazilian Portuguese: fundamental
- Chinese: 主要的
- European Spanish: fundamental
- French: fondamental
- German: fundamental
- Italian: fondamentale
- Japanese: 根本的な
- Korean: 근본적인
- European Portuguese: fundamental
- Latin American Spanish: fundamental
- Thai: ที่เป็นรากฐาน, ที่เป็นแก่นสำคัญ
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