regimen
Americannoun
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Medicine/Medical. a regulated course, as of diet, exercise, or manner of living, intended to preserve or restore health or to attain some result.
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Grammar. government.
noun
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Also called: regime. a systematic way of life or course of therapy, often including exercise and a recommended diet
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administration or rule
Etymology
Origin of regimen
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin: rule, government, guidance, equivalent to reg ( ere ) to rule + -i- -i- + -men, noun suffix of result
Explanation
A regimen is a systematic plan for some kind of therapy. If your doctor tells you to eat more vegetables, cut out potato chips, exercise, and take vitamins, she is prescribing a regimen for better health. It's easy to confuse regimen with regime. While both words can refer to an organized plan for diet, exercise, or medical therapy, only regime can refer to a system of government. If you wash your face twice a day, apply medicine to your acne, and use a special lotion, that's your skin-care regimen. But if a country votes out the ruling party in favor of new leaders, that's a new regime.
Vocabulary lists containing regimen
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
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"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak, Part Six
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One of Us Is Lying
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In this study, the combined regimen was tested only within 72 hours of the initial infection.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026
For years, doctors treated patients suffering from severe, chronic hepatitis C with an expensive drug regimen that required six to 12 months of treatment, had nasty side effects and rarely cured the disease.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
The 84-year-old Kentucky lawmaker said in a statement Thursday that he would undertake an “intensive regimen of physical therapy” from home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
It is a curious diagnosis from an administration whose senior officials have lately been swapping notes on a regimen nicknamed the “sauerkraut diet.”
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
UPDATE: ZoraNeale22, who’s transitioning, asked me to post my regimen.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
