mode
1a particular type or form of something: Heat is a mode of motion.
a designated condition or status, as for performing a task or responding to a problem: a machine in the automatic mode.
Philosophy.
appearance, form, or disposition taken by a thing, or by one of its essential properties or attributes.
(in the philosophy of Spinoza) one of the nonessential qualifications of God, contingent upon other modes.: Compare attribute (def. 9).
Logic.
Music. any of various arrangements of the diatonic tones of an octave, differing from one another in the order of the whole steps and half steps; a type or variation of a scale.
Grammar. mood2 (def. 1).
Statistics. the value of the variate at which a relative or absolute maximum occurs in the frequency distribution of the variate.
Petrography. the actual mineral composition of a rock, expressed in percentages by weight.
Physics. any of the distinct patterns of oscillation that a given periodically varying system can have.
Origin of mode
1synonym study For mode
Words that may be confused with mode
Words Nearby mode
Other definitions for mode (2 of 2)
fashion or style in manners, dress, etc.: He was much concerned to keep up with the latest mode.
a light gray or drab color.
See entry at à la mode.
Origin of mode
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use mode in a sentence
I cried for about an hour when we officially decided to change the date, but then I went into re-planning mode and felt a sense of relief.
How to turn down a wedding invitation during the coronavirus pandemic | Brooke Henderson | August 23, 2020 | FortuneYou may be in crisis mode at the moment, but that is not a place you can stay forever.
SEO in the second half of 2020: Five search opportunities to act on now | Jim Yu | August 17, 2020 | Search Engine WatchOakland, California-based Mighty Buildings came out of stealth mode, to the tune of $30 million in venture capital funding.
These Sleek Houses Are 3D Printed, and They Fit in Your Backyard | Vanessa Bates Ramirez | August 13, 2020 | Singularity HubHearing your angry words, aggressive tone, and raised voice, and seeing your furrowed brow, the onboard computer goes into “soothe” mode, as it’s been programmed to do when it detects that you’re angry.
Cars Will Soon Be Able to Sense and React to Your Emotions | Vanessa Bates Ramirez | July 29, 2020 | Singularity HubAn example of this is comparing data from your various modes of advertising.
10 Reasons why marketers use data to make budgeting decisions | Kimberly Grimms | July 28, 2020 | Search Engine Watch
Although not his most ambitious work, this novel is a wonderful example of Johnson operating in his most readable mode.
Slouching in her chair she is in defensive mode when describing the age of her latest lover.
Yet, the relationship between American politics and la mode is more fraught.
How Oscar de la Renta Created First Lady Fashion | Raquel Laneri | October 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Sunday shows were in full Ebola panic mode today, stoking fears that it could spread further in the United States.
So when the man grabbed her and threw her onto the floor, Monet went into survival mode.
This mode of learning promotes attention and prevents mind-wandering.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)The mode of procession was a little out of the common order of such affairs; but so was the marriage.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry WoodThe significance of the different varieties is more readily understood if one considers their mode of formation.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddWe find by research that smoking was the most general mode of using tobacco in England when first introduced.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.In France the habit of snuffing was the most popular mode and to this day the custom is more general than elsewhere.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.
British Dictionary definitions for mode
/ (məʊd) /
a manner or way of doing, acting, or existing
the current fashion or style
music
any of the various scales of notes within one octave, esp any of the twelve natural diatonic scales taken in ascending order used in plainsong, folk song, and art music until 1600
(in the music of classical Greece) any of the descending diatonic scales from which the liturgical modes evolved
either of the two main scale systems in music since 1600: major mode; minor mode
logic linguistics another name for modality (def. 3), mood 2 (def. 2)
philosophy a complex combination of ideas the realization of which is not determined by the component ideas
that one of a range of values that has the highest frequency as determined statistically: Compare mean 3 (def. 4), median (def. 6)
the quantitative mineral composition of an igneous rock
physics one of the possible configurations of a travelling or stationary wave
physics one of the fundamental vibrations
Origin of mode
1Collins 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 mode
[ mōd ]
The value that occurs most frequently in a data set. For example, in the set 125, 140, 172, 164, 140, 110, the mode is 140. Compare arithmetic mean average median.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for mode
In statistics, the most frequently appearing value in a set of numbers or data points. In the numbers 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 4, 9, 6, 8, and 6, the mode is 6, because it appears more often than any of the other figures. (See average; compare mean and median.)
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.
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