noun
the elementary stages of any subject (usually plural)
-
he mastered only the rudiments of geometry
• Syn: ↑rudiment, ↑first rudiment, ↑first principle, ↑alphabet, ↑ABC, ↑ABCs
• Usage Domain: ↑plural, ↑plural form
• Hypernyms: ↑fundamentals, ↑basics, ↑fundamental principle, ↑basic principle, ↑bedrock
* * *
/ay"bee'seez"/, n. (used with a pl. v.)
1. Also, ABC. the alphabet.
2. the basic skills of spelling, reading, and writing: learning the ABC's in the early grades of school.
3. Also, ABC. the basic or elementary facts, principles, etc., of a subject: the ABC's of electricity.
Also, ABCs.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.