based

Based means being unapologetically yourself and saying what you think, even when it’s unpopular. Calling a take “based” is a compliment: it means you respect it for being bold and honest.

What does based mean?

Based is used for people, opinions or actions that go their own way without worrying about approval. Someone who admits they hate a beloved movie, orders pineapple pizza with pride, or quits a job that treated them badly might be called based. As a reply, “based” simply means “I agree, and I respect you for saying it.”

Its usual opposite is cringe. “Based or cringe?” is a common joke format for judging a take.

How to use based

• “She told her boss she won’t answer emails on weekends. Based.”
• “Admitting you’ve never seen Star Wars is pretty based.”
• “That’s the most based thing I’ve heard all day.”
• A: “Breakfast for dinner is superior.” B: “Based.”

A note on politics

In some online communities, “based” is used mainly to praise edgy or anti-mainstream political opinions, and the word became popular in right-wing spaces during and after the 2014 Gamergate controversy. In everyday use, though, most people mean nothing political by it.

Where based comes from

Merriam-Webster credits the modern meaning to Berkeley rapper Lil B, “The BasedGod,” whose group The Pack released an album called Based Boys in 2007. In a 2010 interview with Complex, Lil B said “based” had been an insult, meaning a “basehead” or drug user, and that he flipped it into something positive: “Based means being yourself.”

Related terms

• Cringe: embarrassing, the opposite of based.
• Sigma: a lone-wolf type, or simply “cool.”
• No cap: no lie.
• W: a win.

See more terms like this in our Gen Z slang dictionary.