as in basic
of or relating to the simplest facts or theories of a subject
a meat-and-potatoes knowledge of figure skating is all that a spectator really needs
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in root
the central part or aspect of something under consideration
an article that never gets into the meat and potatoes of a solution to the city's rising crime rate
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of meat-and-potatoes
Joe Reid, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2026
Amaya Battle is a meat-and-potatoes basketball player.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 17 Feb. 2026
Josh Miller, Southern Living, 7 Nov. 2025
That’s meat and potatoes y’all.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 21 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for meat-and-potatoes
Adjective
Wahlberg was a 20-something bad boy who took a more meat-and-potatoes (or Peter Berg and Peter Berg) route to popular success.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2026
Amaya Battle is a meat-and-potatoes basketball player.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 17 Feb. 2026
Plural noun
Save as a collection on MyRecipes To some, the definition of a comforting dinner is meat and potatoes.
—Josh Miller, Southern Living, 7 Nov. 2025
That’s meat and potatoes y’all.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 21 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for meat-and-potatoes
Recent Examples of Synonyms for meat-and-potatoes
Adjective
-
The first is to start with super basic exercises unique to the core stability category.—
Matt Parrott,
Arkansas Online,
26 Apr. 2026
-
The state defines neglect as intentionally not meeting a child’s basic needs, such as adequate food or weather-appropriate clothing.—
Meg Wingerter,
Denver Post,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Others in attendance had more specific local issues on their mind, like the city’s plan for a new jail, which is currently supposed to be located in the East Bottoms, near Frontier STEM High School and its elementary and middle feeder schools.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
2 May 2026
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But this district — with seven elementary and two middle schools — is enduring a crippling strike, affecting about 3,400 students drawn from Santa Fe Springs and parts of Norwalk and Downey.—
Howard Blume,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
That archive of prints is in the process of being broken up for sale, and a few hundred of those boxes, including this set of 36 prints plus a clutch of introductory material and captions, have made their way to Daniel/Oliver, a gallery in East Williamsburg.—
Christopher Bonanos,
Curbed,
28 Apr. 2026
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At Fudd’s introductory press conference with the Wings on April 16, she was asked to comment on her off-court connection with Bueckers by a local reporter.—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Rotifers, though microscopic, possess specialized systems such as digestive tracts and rudimentary nervous structures, making their long-term survival in a frozen state particularly notable.—
Brittany Miller,
FOXNews.com,
25 Apr. 2026
-
His pieces include solid wood chairs with a deliberately rudimentary, almost minimal design, integrating ornamental elements such as marquetry panels or tin bas-reliefs into their backs, legs or seats.—
Sandra Salibian,
Footwear News,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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But the king said despite the fundamental disagreement between the countries, the United States inherited its democratic values from the United Kingdom.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
-
There are fundamental limits, such as the Planck scale (sometimes called the pixel size of the universe), beyond which the very idea of distance loses meaning.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Meat-and-potatoes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/meat-and-potatoes. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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