rudiment
noun
ru·di·ment
| \ ˈrü-də-mənt
\
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Definition of rudiment
1
: a basic principle or element or a fundamental skill
—usually used in plural teaching themselves the rudiments of rational government— G. B. Galanti
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Other Words from rudiment
rudimental
\ ˌrü-də-ˈmen-tᵊl
\
adjective
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adjective
Examples of rudiment in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But his father dies suddenly, before passing on anything but the rudiments of the job. — MarÃa Gainza, Harper's magazine, "Both Sides Now," 10 May 2019 On one such stone a pair of dotted squares flanking a thin rectangle, barely recognizable as the rudiments of a face, were enough to convey the presence of a goddess in a shrine of the first century AD. — James Romm, The New York Review of Books, "‘The World Between Empires: Art and Identity in the Ancient Middle East’," 18 Mar. 2019 Our fellow great apes understand the rudiments of language, and creatures great and small — from elephants to crows — seem to possess highly organized social structures, tool-making skills and self-awareness. — John Wenz, Discover Magazine, "The Secret Origins of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence," 11 Feb. 2019 Papers like Johnson’s are beginning to build the rudiments of a theory of neural networks. — Quanta Magazine, "Foundations Built for a General Theory of Neural Networks," 31 Jan. 2019 The sheer scale of the original pandemic meant that many were denied even the rudiments that medicine could offer a century ago. — William F. Bynum, WSJ, "‘Pandemic 1918’ and ‘Influenza’ Review: Fire, Ice or Virus?," 4 Jan. 2019 What Sasser has found here is a kind of case law — and the rudiments of a justice system. — Casey Newton, The Verge, "Why we can’t stop debating whether Facebook sells data," 14 Dec. 2018 On the Senate Judiciary Committee, staffers from both parties are still organizing the rudiments of a confirmation process and have not yet focused on specific issues. — Amy Goldstein, chicagotribune.com, "Judicial views on religion likely to figure into a fierce Supreme Court confirmation fight," 8 July 2018 On the Senate Judiciary Committee, staffers from both parties are still organizing the rudiments of a confirmation process and have not yet focused on specific issues. — Amy Goldstein, chicagotribune.com, "Judicial views on religion likely to figure into a fierce Supreme Court confirmation fight," 8 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rudiment.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for rudiment
rudiment
noun
ru·di·ment
| \ ˈrü-də-mənt
\
\
Kids Definition of rudiment
: a basic principle
rudiment
noun
ru·di·ment
| \ ˈrüd-ə-mənt
\
\
Medical Definition of rudiment
: an incompletely developed organ or part
especially
: an organ or part just beginning to develop : anlage