get down to basics

VERB

simplify

Synonyms

STRONGEST

clarify cut down facilitate reduce shorten streamline

STRONG

abridge analyze chasten decipher disentangle disinvolve elucidate explain interpret order unscramble

WEAK

boil down break down break it down clean it up clean up clear up cut the frills draw a picture get to the meat hit the high spots lay out let daylight in let sunlight in make clear make perfectly clear make plain put in a nutshell put one straight spell out

Antonyms

STRONGEST

grow increase

STRONG

be vague confuse mix up mystify obscure

WEAK

complicate make difficult

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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get down to basics

I would just get down to basics about life and love, because there’s no other way to deal with him.

From Salon ● Nov. 13, 2018

Her technique was to get down to basics.

From Newsweek ● Apr. 8, 2013

After a generation of musical franchises, a decade of labor unrest in the locker room, a time of free agents and frostbitten World Series in mid-October, baseball sorely needs to get down to basics.

From Time Magazine Archive

“Let’s get down to basics, boy. If you don’t ante up, you won’t get any Thanksgiving dinner, and nobody will play Monopoly with you for a full week.”

From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals

get down to basics

Example Sentences

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