routine
Americannoun
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a customary or regular course of procedure.
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commonplace tasks, chores, or duties as must be done regularly or at specified intervals; typical or everyday activity.
the routine of an office.
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regular, unvarying, habitual, unimaginative, or rote procedure.
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an unvarying and constantly repeated formula, as of speech or action; convenient or predictable response.
Don't give me that brotherly-love routine!
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Computers.
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a complete set of coded instructions directing a computer to perform a series of operations.
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a series of operations performed by the computer.
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an individual act, performance, or part of a performance, as a song or dance, given regularly by an entertainer.
a comic routine; a dance routine.
adjective
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of the nature of, proceeding by, or adhering to routine.
routine duties.
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dull or uninteresting; commonplace.
noun
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a usual or regular method of procedure, esp one that is unvarying
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computing a program or part of a program performing a specific function
an input routine
an output routine
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a set sequence of dance steps
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informal a hackneyed or insincere speech
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of routine
First recorded in 1670–80; from French, derivative of route route
Explanation
A routine is like a habit or sequence that doesn't vary. There are daily routines and dance routines, and maybe even daily dance routines. Something routine isn't unusual: routine things happen all the time. Most jobs have a routine — things that must be done on a regular basis. People often get surprised by things that aren't part of their routine, or "shake up their routine." Computer routines are predetermined and predictable. Singers and dancers also have routines — the planned performances they've (hopefully) been practicing.
Vocabulary lists containing routine
Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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Bronx Masquerade
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The Circuit
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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.
Routine, he says, makes him feel safe, but it’s something he is pushing against on this album, so much that he titled it after a phrase he realized he had used in two songs.
From Salon • May 15, 2026
Routine, lower-level jobs are increasingly being automated, while higher-value work — interpreting results, developing strategy and insights — is becoming even more important.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026
Routine maintenance may have to wait until a lasting truce emerges and demining can take place.
From Barron's • Apr. 12, 2026
Routine testing includes payroll, expense vouching, cash procedures, search for unrecorded liabilities, accounts receivable, acquisitions of new buildings and equipment, and the cost of goods sold.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
Routine can be a pleasant mistress whom it is hard to resist, for routine makes the time go faster.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
