based
adjective
unconcerned with what others think
What does based mean?
Based is used approvingly to describe someone who projects a lack of concern about how others feel about their actions or opinions. It can also describe a thing, such as an action or event, perceived as both bold and commendable, especially if it challenges or flouts convention in some way.
Examples of based
My boyfriend is so based he cut my hair. Also casually made the best aglio e olio of my career and it was better than yours I guarantee it
— Instagram.com, 13 Jan. 2025… he [Thomas Aquinas] was based for integrating Christianity with Aristotle but cringe for upholding massive sexism…
—@exgenesis, X (formerly Twitter), 1 Jun. 2025
Ngl this meme is so based
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Where does based come from?
The slang use of based is widely credited to Berkeley, California rapper Lil B, whose 2007 album with hip-hop group The Pack was titled Based Boys, and who counts “The BasedGod” among his aliases.
Based means being yourself. Not being scared of what people think about you. Not being afraid to do what you wanna do. Being positive. When I was younger, based was a negative term that meant like dopehead, or basehead. People used to make fun of me. They was like, “You’re based.” They’d use it as a negative. And what I did was turn that negative into a positive. I started embracing it like, “Yeah, I’m based.” I made it mine. I embedded it in my head. Based is positive.
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The term was later taken up ironically in online circles by the alt-right in the 2010s, which brought it more attention.
The conservative commentator Christina Hoff Sommers was given the nickname Based Mom due to her ardent defense of gamers who were labeled as sexist. Following the anointment of Sommers as Based Mom, this pseudo-title became a commonly-applied ironic honorific for conservatives online. “Based” was particularly popular in the far-right spaces of Reddit, 4chan, Twitter and Discord, where casual misogyny often mixed with ironic racism.
—… the word “based,” which is 4chan slang for somebody who agrees to the board’s warped worldview.
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The word is still used ironically in such circles, but is not exclusive to far-right communities.
Creating Food forests and feeding your community with it is based af !!
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How is based used?
In addition to being used as an adjective, based is often used interjectionally and as a hashtag as an affirmation in response to someone or something that is, well, based.
Ok, I’m now convinced the NYT staff room plays a water cooler game coming up with absurd slang etymologies #Based
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