1. (noun)fundamental any factor that could be considered important to the understanding of a particularbusiness "fundamentals include a company's growth, revenues, earnings, management, and capital structure"
2. (noun)fundamental, fundamental frequency, first harmonic the lowest tone of a harmonicseries
3. (adj)cardinal, central, fundamental, key, primal serving as an essentialcomponent "a cardinal rule"; "the central cause of the problem"; "an example that was fundamental to the argument"; "computers are fundamental to modern industrial structure"
4. (adj)fundamental, rudimentary, underlying being or involving basic facts or principles
"the fundamental laws of the universe"; "a fundamental incomatibility between them"; "these rudimentary truths"; "underlying principles"
5. (adj)fundamental, profound far-reaching and thoroughgoing in effect especially on the nature of something
"the fundamental revolution in human values that has occurred"; "the book underwent fundamental changes"; "committed the fundamental error of confusing spending with extravagance"; "profound social changes"