going back to basics

Meanings

1. 1phraseidiom

   Returning to the simplest and most important methods or ideas of something, after it has become too complicated.

   Grammar: Used as a noun-like phrase: the subject is usually 'going back to basics', and it often follows verbs like 'mean', 'involve' or 'be about'.

   Patterns

   • go back to basics
   • going back to basics means something
   • it's about going back to basics

   For the new season, the coach says the team is going back to basics: passing, running and defending.

   After years of fancy recipes, the restaurant is going back to basics and serving simple home cooking.

   Going back to basics in math means making sure students really understand addition and subtraction.

2. 2phrasefixed phrase

   A return to simple, fundamental rules or skills in order to improve or start again.

   Grammar: Often used after 'a' as a countable idea: 'a going back to basics'. More commonly it stands alone as a topic or title.

   Patterns

   • a going back to basics
   • call for a going back to basics

   The company called for a going back to basics after the failed expansion.

   Her speech was a going back to basics: honesty, hard work and listening to customers.

Common combinations

go back to basics

When sales fell, the manager told us to go back to basics and talk to customers.

a return to basics

The new principal promised a return to basics in reading and writing.

get back to basics

Let's get back to basics and check every step of the process.

back-to-basics approach

They took a back-to-basics approach to training the new staff.

Synonyms and how they differ

back to first principles

This is more formal and suggests reasoning from basic rules, while 'going back to basics' is more everyday and practical.

simplifying

This focuses on making something less complex, whereas 'going back to basics' stresses returning to the original core methods.

Opposites

Word family

basic adjective

Simple and most important; forming the base of something.

basics noun

The simplest and most necessary facts or skills of a subject.

basically adverb

In the most important ways; simply put.

Commonly confused: going back to basics or back to the drawing board?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “going back to basics”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words