modifier

[ mod-uh-fahy-er ]
See synonyms for modifier on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person or thing that modifies.

  2. Grammar.

    • a word, phrase, or sentence element that limits or qualifies the sense of another word, phrase, or element in the same construction.

    • the immediate constituent of an endocentric construction that is not the head.

Origin of modifier

1
First recorded in 1575–85; modify + -er1

Grammar notes for modifier

Words Nearby modifier

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

How to use modifier in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for modifier

modifier

/ (ˈmɒdɪˌfaɪə) /


noun
  1. Also called: qualifier grammar a word or phrase that qualifies the sense of another word; for example, the noun alarm is a modifier of clock in alarm clock and the phrase every day is an adverbial modifier of walks in he walks every day

  2. a person or thing that modifies

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

Cultural definitions for modifier

modifier

A word or group of words that describes or limits a verb, noun, adjective, or adverb. Modifiers applied to nouns are adjectives. Modifiers applied to verbs or adjectives are adverbs. Those that are applied to adverbs themselves are also called adverbs.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.