Meaning & use

foundational

adjective·Academic

Forming a basic and essential part of something on which everything else depends.

See it in a sentence

Learning basic grammar is foundational to writing clearly in any language.

The report identifies trust as a foundational element of any successful team.

A note on using this word

Foundational is often used in education and business writing to stress that a concept or skill underlies everything built on top of it.

Words with a similar meaning

fundamentalessentialbasic

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Make it your own

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