foundational

adjective

foun·​da·​tion·​al fau̇n-ˈdā-shnəl 

-shə-nᵊl

: of, relating to, or forming or serving as a base or foundation : fundamental

foundational principles/doctrines

These foundational volumes proved to be, each in its own way, enabling gestures for the growth of sophisticated theories and critical practices in African, Caribbean, and African American literatures.

—Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Property was, in a sense, foundational to culture, since English political economy rested on the private ownership of land, and the political economy, in turn, largely structured social relations.

—Jill Lepore

Philosophy is a foundational discipline. Not only does it do the spadework that makes the construction of other disciplines possible; it also pays constant attention to the foundations of those disciplines as they are practiced.

—Cognitive Science

foundationally adverb

Examples of foundational in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The foundational ideas behind energy-efficient computation, however, have been developed as far back as 1991. —Anna Herr, IEEE Spectrum, 15 May 2024

Pasta al pomodoro, a foundational dish of Italian cooking, is officially less than two centuries old, and neither of its two main ingredients is native to the region. —Ligaya Mishan Anthony Cotsifas Emily Woo Zeller Tanya Pérez Quinton Kamara, New York Times, 13 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1657, in the meaning defined above