frequent
Americanadjective
-
happening or occurring at short intervals.
to make frequent trips to Tokyo.
-
constant, habitual, or regular.
a frequent guest.
-
located at short distances apart.
frequent towns along the shore.
verb (used with object)
adjective
-
recurring at short intervals
-
constant or habitual
verb
Other Word Forms
- frequentable adjective
- frequenter noun
- frequently adverb
- frequentness noun
- nonfrequent adjective
- nonfrequently adverb
- overfrequent adjective
- overfrequently adverb
- unfrequent adjective
- unfrequentable adjective
- unfrequently adverb
- well-frequented adjective
Etymology
Origin of frequent
First recorded in 1400–50; (for the adjective) late Middle English: “ample, profuse,” from Latin frequent-, stem of frequēns “crowded, full, repeated”; verb derivative of the adjective
Explanation
Use the adjective frequent to describe something done often and at regular intervals. If your family likes to read, you may be a frequent visitor to the library. You may also have frequent arguments with your family about who gets to read a book first. The adjective form of frequent also means regularly and often encountered. If you live on the windward side of Oahu, Hawaii, you may experience frequent rain showers. As a verb, frequent means to be a regular visitor or to patronize. You can frequent the trails of the National Parks. You may prefer to frequent locally-owned businesses.
Vocabulary lists containing frequent
List 3
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Academic Vocabulary: Core Tier 2 Words, List 2
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Rosetta Stone's Essential Academic Vocabulary: Lesson 3
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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.
To him, however, the chip maker’s frequent updates reflect that its “growth is astronomical.”
From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026
Three quarters of public relations pros surveyed by Muck Rack External link say they use AI on the job, with editing and writing among the most frequent uses and greatest timesavers.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
Velasco is reported to be a regular participant in the frequent Sheinbaum-Trump phone confabs — conversations that have emerged as key indicators of how things are going between the neighboring nations.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
Anthropic experiences frequent outages and limits user token usage, while OpenAI scrapped its Sora app to free up compute.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026
The most frequent mortal attendees were Kate, George, Sarah, and their only remaining child, ten-year-old son Willie.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
