{{Short description|Internet slang term}} {{ITALICTITLE}} [[File:Lil B at Coachella 2011.png|thumb|Lil B at Coachella music festival in 2011]] '''''Based''''' is a slang term that originally emerged in California during the 1970s, stemming from the phrase "freebase cocaine," a method which makes the drug smokable. "Based" was derived from "basehead," a term used to refer to a freebase addict.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Wordsworth |first=Dot |date=2025-04-23 |title=What is ‘based’ based on? |url=https://www.spectator.com.au/2025/04/what-is-based-based-on/ |access-date=2026-04-17 |website=The Spectator Australia |language=en-US}}</ref> The term grew in prominence as a pejorative during the crack epidemic to refer to someone who was "cracked out". By the late 2000s and early 2010s, it became an Internet slang term as popularized by American rapper Lil B, also known as '''The Based God'''. He appropriated the phrase as a reclaimed word, which he defined as being yourself and positive.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
During the early-to mid 2010s, the term was adopted by online misogynists as part of the Gamergate campaign to refer to conservative critic Christina Hoff Sommers as "Based Mom". The phrase was later reappropriated by Trump supporters and evolved to describe an agreement with unpopular opinions or stances and actions that negate political correctness. By 2023, the FBI deemed the phrase "based and redpilled" as connected to alt-right extremism online. The term "based" later entered the mainstream and regained a neutral connotation.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Marche |first=Stephen |date=2024-06-25 |title=Opinion {{!}} Today’s Teenagers Have Invented a Language That Captures the World Perfectly |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/25/opinion/gen-z-slang-language.html |access-date=2026-03-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Wordsworth |first=Dot |date=2025-04-23 |title=What is ‘based’ based on? |url=https://www.spectator.com.au/2025/04/what-is-based-based-on/ |access-date=2026-03-28 |website=The Spectator Australia |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2026-02-01 |title=The 'New York Times' Criticized for Not Giving Lil B Props for "Based" |url=https://www.complex.com/music/a/treyalston/new-york-times-lil-b-based |access-date=2026-03-28 |website=Complex |language=en}}</ref>
== Etymology ==
=== Origins === According to ''the Spectator'', "Based" emerged as a phrase in California during the 1970s, stemming from the term "freebase cocaine," a method which makes the drug smokable. "Based" was derived from "basehead," a term used to refer to a freebase addict. The term grew in prominence as a pejorative during the crack epidemic to refer to someone who was "cracked out".<ref name=":9" /> During the mid-to late 2000s, Lil B, reappropriated the pejorative as a term of endearment, using it to describe a positive and bold lifestyle. The phrase had been used by him as early as 2007 on several song and album titles.<ref name=":2" /> He adopted the nickname "The Based God" with music critics referring to his rapping style as "based". According to Lil B, "Based" is a reclaimed word:<ref name="BASED-KQED">{{cite web |last=Meline |first=Gabe |date=December 17, 2014 |title=Thank You Based God: 10 Reasons Why You Should See Lil' B This Weekend |url=http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2014/12/17/thank-you-based-god-10-reasons-why-you-should-see-lil-b-this-weekend/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130054413/https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2014/12/17/thank-you-based-god-10-reasons-why-you-should-see-lil-b-this-weekend/ |archive-date=January 30, 2018 |access-date=February 19, 2015 |website=kqed.org}}</ref><ref name="BASED-Complex">{{cite web |last=Baker |first=Ernest |date=June 10, 2010 |title=Lil B Talks Getting Sucker Punched, Gay Rumors, & Drake Envy |url=http://www.complex.com/music/2010/06/lil-b-talks-getting-sucker-punched-gay-rumors-drake-envy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414112158/https://www.complex.com/music/2010/06/lil-b-talks-getting-sucker-punched-gay-rumors-drake-envy |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=February 19, 2015 |website=complex.com}}</ref>{{blockquote|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.}}
=== Semantic change === {{See also|Redpilled}} [[File:Zhang Zongchang5 (cropped).jpg|thumb|270x270px|Zhang Zongchang, a famous Chinese warlord due to his eccentric personality and gambling addiction was labeled by ''TIME'' as China's "basest warlord"<ref name="time">{{cite magazine |date=7 March 1927 |title=CHINA: Basest War Lord |url=https://time.com/vault/issue/1927-03-07/page/21/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230807161101/https://time.com/vault/issue/1927-03-07/page/21/ |archive-date=7 August 2023 |access-date=7 August 2023 |magazine=TIME}}</ref>]] According to ''Slate'' magazine, the phrase was co-opted by misogynists in 2014 during the Gamergate campaign to refer to conservative critic Christina Hoff Sommers as "Based Mom".<ref name=":9">{{Cite news |last=Mathis-Lilley |first=Ben |date=2016-08-24 |title=Based, the Crack-Era Word Redefined by a Popular Rapper and Then Appropriated by Racist Trump Supporters |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2016/08/donald-trump-alt-right-white-supremacist-supporters-appropriate-based-from-lil-b-crackheads.html |access-date=2026-02-08 |work=Slate |language=en-US |issn=1091-2339}}</ref> By the late 2010s, the phrase had been used to describe stances or actions that negate political correctness.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Stanish |first=Nathan |date=2022-03-24 |title=The word 'based' is overused |url=https://hillsdalecollegian.com/2022/03/the-word-based-is-overused/ |access-date=2025-06-30 |website=Hillsdale Collegian |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="NYTJul2010">{{cite news |last=Caramanica |first=Jon |date=July 26, 2010 |title=A Pied Piper of Rap, Followed on Twitter |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/arts/music/27lil.html?_r=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428234404/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/arts/music/27lil.html?_r=1 |archive-date=April 28, 2021 |access-date=April 18, 2011 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="sfbg">{{cite news |last=Staley |first=Willy |date=September 7, 2009 |title=The man behind the meme |url=http://www.sfbg.com/2010/09/07/man-behind-meme?page=0,0 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055040/http://www.sfbg.com/2010/09/07/man-behind-meme?page=0,0 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date=May 19, 2012 |newspaper=San Francisco Bay Guardian}}</ref> The term continued to be co-opted by edgelord culture,<ref name=":10">{{Cite web |last=Garvey |first=Meaghan |title=Nettspend: BAD ASS F*CKING KID |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/nettspend-bad-ass-fcking-kid/ |access-date=2026-02-08 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref> white nationalists, and the alt-right.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wordsworth |first=Dot |date=2025-04-23 |title=What is ‘based’ based on? |url=https://www.spectator.com.au/2025/04/what-is-based-based-on/ |access-date=2026-02-08 |website=The Spectator Australia |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":9" />
In 2016, ''Slate'' magazine stated that the term "based" had been reappropriated by "racist Trump supporters".<ref name=":9" /> By 2023, ''Dazed'' magazine stated that the FBI had deemed the term "based and redpilled" as connected to violent alt-right extremism online.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Dazed |date=2023-04-11 |title=Based and redpilled: the FBI links internet slang to violent extremism |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/59622/1/based-and-redpilled-the-fbi-links-internet-slang-to-violent-extremism-incel |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=Dazed |language=en}}</ref> The article stated that, according to the FBI, using the term "based" might lead to an individual being labeled an "incel extremist".<ref name=":4" /> It also criticized the FBI's stance, arguing that the Internet was "steeped in irony and political satire."<ref name=":4" />
"Based" as a slang term was later reclaimed again by Gen Z artists inspired by Lil B such as Xaviersobased and his collective 1c34,<ref name=":10" /> and had also entered the mainstream, regaining a neutral connotation.<ref name=":3" />
== In popular culture == The term has been used by the White House's X account under the Second Trump Administration.<ref name=":2" />
In 2026, ''The New York Times'' were criticized for not crediting Lil B for the origins of "based" as a slang term.<ref name=":2" />
== See also ==
* Generation Z slang * Hot take
== References == Category:1970s neologisms Category:Internet slang Category:2000s neologisms Category:Generation Z slang <references /> Category:Generation Alpha slang Category:2010s slang Category:2020s slang Category:2000s slang Category:African-American slang