English Meaning & Definitions
Of or acting as a foundation; serving as an essential base or starting point for something.
- “Learning the alphabet is a foundational step in mastering any language.”
- “The physicist's groundbreaking research provided foundational principles for modern quantum mechanics.”
English Synonyms & Near Equivalents
English Antonyms & Opposites
Comprehensive Thesaurus Breakdown
Compare formal, informal, literary synonyms and register nuances for “foundational”.
Derived from the noun 'foundation' (via Middle English from Old French 'fondacion', based on the Latin 'fundatio', from 'fundare' meaning 'to base or sink a bottom', from 'fundus' meaning 'bottom or base'), with the adjectival suffix '-al' added to mean 'pertaining to or serving as a foundation'.
Think of a building's FOUNDATION—something foundational is at the very bottom, holding everything up.
Frequently Asked Questions About “foundational”
1. What is the meaning of “foundational” in English?
In English, foundational (adjective) is defined as: “Of or acting as a foundation; serving as an essential base or starting point for something.”.
2. How do you use “foundational” in a sentence?
“Learning the alphabet is a foundational step in mastering any language.”
3. What are English synonyms of “foundational”?
4. What is the etymology and word origin of “foundational”?
Derived from the noun 'foundation' (via Middle English from Old French 'fondacion', based on the Latin 'fundatio', from 'fundare' meaning 'to base or sink a bottom', from 'fundus' meaning 'bottom or base'), with the adjectival suffix '-al' added to mean 'pertaining to or serving as a foundation'.
🇬🇧More English Words to English
View all English words →The base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.
A specific duration of time equal to one hour and forty-six minutes and twelve seconds.
The cardinal number equal to one thousand million (1,000,000,000), expressed in scientific notation as 10^9.
A specific duration of time equivalent to one hour and forty-six minutes.