rudimentary

adjective

ru·​di·​men·​ta·​ry ˌrü-də-ˈmen-tə-rē How to pronounce rudimentary (audio)
-ˈmen-trē
1
: consisting in first principles : fundamental
had only a rudimentary formal educationD. J. Boorstin
2
: of a primitive kind
the equipment of these past empire-builders was rudimentaryA. J. Toynbee
3
: very imperfectly developed or represented only by a vestige
the rudimentary tail of a hyrax
rudimentarily adverb
rudimentariness noun

Examples of rudimentary in a Sentence

Because now, every schlemiel with a pair of mirrored sunglasses and a rudimentary grasp of the rules of poker thinks he can play cards with the pros. A. J. Jacobs, New York Times Book Review, 8 May 2005
Despite the rudimentary nature of its instruments—an octant, a chronometer and a level—the Lewis and Clark Expedition was a triumph for science and natural history. Daniel J. Boorstin, U.S. News & World Report, 11 July 1994
A few were hopeless imbeciles, unable to comprehend more than the rudimentary requirements of filling their bellies when food was placed before them … Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Monster Men, 1929
This class requires a rudimentary knowledge of human anatomy. When baseball was in its rudimentary stages, different teams played by different rules. Some insects have only rudimentary wings.
Recent Examples on the Web Although some people may think AI is a new technology, the rudimentary concepts of AI and its subsets date back more than 50 years. Atal Bansal, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 Sacramento is not alone in paying a lot of money for rudimentary shelters, and costs of that magnitude indicate that California would have to spend much more than the current levels to put roofs over the heads of its homeless people. Dan Walters, The Mercury News, 29 Feb. 2024 Retail is already taking the lead with fairly rudimentary in-store virtual changing room assistance, as well as personal stylists and home styling into your home. Sairah Ashman, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024 The mixed reality options of the older Light glasses were fairly rudimentary, and stripping them out to save some weight and money made sense. Adi Robertson, The Verge, 7 Jan. 2024 Much of the research out in the public record now was conducted at a time when electronic resources were much more rudimentary. Emma Green, The New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2024 As previously reported, mathematical ability is often considered uniquely human, but in fact, scientists have found that many animal species—including lions, chimpanzees, birds, bees, ants, and fish—seem to possess at least a rudimentary counting ability or number sense. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 1 Feb. 2024 Even today’s relatively rudimentary systems have attracted their own loyal followers. Drew Harwell, Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2023 While that is a rudimentary attack, the company said it was made harder to spot because the login attempts came from a number of different places. Joseph Menn, Washington Post, 26 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rudimentary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

see rudiment

First Known Use

1619, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of rudimentary was in 1619

Dictionary Entries Near rudimentary

Cite this Entry

“Rudimentary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rudimentary. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

rudimentary

adjective
ru·​di·​men·​ta·​ry ˌrüd-ə-ˈment-ə-rē How to pronounce rudimentary (audio)
-ˈmen-trē
1
2
: very imperfectly developed or represented only by a small part compared to the fully developed form
a rudimentary tail

Medical Definition

rudimentary

adjective
ru·​di·​men·​ta·​ry ˌrüd-ə-ˈment-ə-rē, -ˈmen-trē How to pronounce rudimentary (audio)
: very imperfectly developed or represented only by a vestige

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