regular

[ reg-yuh-ler ]
See synonyms for: regularregulars on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. usual; normal; customary: To stay tidy, always put things back in their regular place immediately.

  2. evenly or uniformly arranged; symmetrical: His white, regular teeth were his most noticable feature.

  1. characterized by fixed principle, uniform procedure, etc.: It's a relief to finally have regular income coming in.

  2. recurring at fixed times; periodic: Regular bus departures occured between noon and three in the afternnoon.The dog is much better now that she's getting regular meals.

  3. rhythmical: The baby's regular breathing suggested she was finally sleeping.

  4. occurring with normal frequency, as menses or bowel movements.

  5. having regular menses or bowel movements.

  6. adhering to a rule or procedure; methodical: regular habits; to be regular in one's diet.

  7. observing fixed times or habits; habitual: a regular customer.

  8. orderly; well-ordered: a regular life.

  9. conforming to some accepted rule, discipline, etc.

  10. carried out in accordance with an accepted principle or rule; formally correct: a regular session of the court.

  11. qualified to engage in an occupation or profession; legitimate; proper: I suspected the man wasn't a regular doctor.

  12. Informal.

    • real or genuine; down-to-earth; decent: a regular guy.

    • absolute; thoroughgoing: a regular rascal.

  13. (of a flower) having the members of each of its floral circles or whorls alike in form and size.

  14. Grammar. conforming to the most prevalent pattern of formation, inflection, construction, etc.: a regular verb.

  15. Mathematics.

    • governed by one law throughout.

    • (of a polygon) having all sides and angles equal.

    • (of a polyhedron) having all faces congruent regular polygons, and all solid angles congruent.

    • (of a topological space) having the property that, corresponding to each point and a closed set not containing the point, there are two disjoint open sets, one containing the point, the other containing the closed set.

    • (of a function of a complex variable) analytic (def. 5a).

  16. Military. noting or belonging to the permanently organized, or standing, army of a state.

  17. International Law. noting soldiers recognized as legitimate combatants in warfare.

  18. Ecclesiastical. subject to a religious rule, or belonging to a religious or monastic order (opposed to secular): regular clergy.

  19. U.S. Politics. of, relating to, or selected by the recognized agents of a political party: the regular ticket.

  20. of or relating to a product, such as a food or beverage, that has the original formula or typical ingredients, usually used to contrast with a modified version of the same product: regular or diet soda;regular yogurt or soy yogurt;regular gasoline or premium.

  21. (of coffee) containing an average amount of milk or cream.

noun
  1. a long-standing or habitual customer or client: The restaurant can always find tables for its regulars.

  2. Ecclesiastical. a member of a duly constituted religious order under a rule.

  1. Military. a professional soldier.

  2. U.S. Politics. a party member who faithfully stands by their party.

  3. a size of garment designed for men of average build.

  4. a garment, as a suit or overcoat, in a size of garment designed for men of average build.

  5. an athlete who plays in most of the games, usually from the start.

Origin of regular

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English reguler (adjective) from Middle French, from Late Latin rēgulāris. See regula, -ar1

Other words for regular

Other words from regular

  • reg·u·lar·i·ty [reg-yuh-lar-i-tee], /ˌrɛg yəˈlær ɪ ti/, reg·u·lar·ness, noun
  • qua·si-reg·u·lar, adjective
  • qua·si-reg·u·lar·ly, adverb
  • sub·reg·u·lar, adjective
  • sub·reg·u·lar·i·ty, noun

Words that may be confused with regular

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use regular in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for regular

regular

/ (ˈrɛɡjʊlə) /


adjective
  1. normal, customary, or usual

  2. according to a uniform principle, arrangement, or order: trees planted at regular intervals

  1. occurring at fixed or prearranged intervals: to make a regular call on a customer

  2. following a set rule or normal practice; methodical or orderly

  3. symmetrical in appearance or form; even: regular features

  4. (prenominal) organized, elected, conducted, etc, in a proper or officially prescribed manner

  5. (prenominal) officially qualified or recognized: he's not a regular doctor

  6. (prenominal) (intensifier): a regular fool

  7. US and Canadian informal likable, dependable, or nice (esp in the phrase a regular guy)

  8. denoting or relating to the personnel or units of the permanent military services: a regular soldier; the regular army

  9. (of flowers) having any of their parts, esp petals, alike in size, shape, arrangement, etc; symmetrical

  10. (of the formation, inflections, etc, of a word) following the usual pattern of formation in a language

  11. maths

    • (of a polygon) equilateral and equiangular

    • (of a polyhedron) having identical regular polygons as faces that make identical angles with each other

    • (of a prism) having regular polygons as bases

    • (of a pyramid) having a regular polygon as a base and the altitude passing through the centre of the base

    • another name for analytic (def. 5)

  12. botany another word for actinomorphic

  13. (postpositive) subject to the rule of an established religious order or community: canons regular

  14. US politics of, selected by, or loyal to the leadership or platform of a political party: a regular candidate; regular policies

  15. crystallog another word for cubic (def. 4)

noun
  1. a professional long-term serviceman or -woman in a military unit

  2. informal a person who does something regularly, such as attending a theatre or patronizing a shop

  1. a member of a religious order or congregation, as contrasted with a secular

  2. US politics a party member loyal to the leadership, organization, platform, etc, of his or her party

Origin of regular

1
C14: from Old French reguler, from Latin rēgulāris of a bar of wood or metal, from rēgula ruler, model

Derived forms of regular

  • regularity, noun
  • regularly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for regular

regular

[ rĕgyə-lər ]


  1. Having all sides or faces equal. For example, a square is a regular polygon, and a cube is a regular polyhedron.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.