mandatory
Americanadjective
-
authoritatively ordered; obligatory; compulsory.
It is mandatory that all students take two years of math.
-
pertaining to, of the nature of, or containing a command.
-
Law. permitting no option; not to be disregarded or modified.
a mandatory clause.
-
having received a mandate, as a nation.
noun
-
mandatories
plural
adjective
-
having the nature or powers of a mandate
-
obligatory; compulsory
-
(of a state) having received a mandate over some territory
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of mandatory
From the Late Latin word mandātōrius, dating back to 1655–65. See mandate, -tory 1
Explanation
In the US, attending school through the twelfth grade, driving on the right side of the road, and obtaining a social security number are all mandatory. The phrase "mandatory requirement" is redundant. A mandatory action is something that is required, obligatory, or compulsory. Like letting your Great Aunt Edna pinch your cheeks or passing gym to get your diploma. Mandatory is often used in opposition to optional. If you want to compete with the swim team at school, weeknight practices are mandatory, meaning you have to go, though the Saturday dawn swim practice remains optional, meaning it's up to you.
Vocabulary lists containing mandatory
List 2
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Twelve Angry Men
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All American Boys
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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.
See Examples For:
The two countries were also engaged in a mandatory review of an existing North American free trade agreement, known as USMCA, with Mexico.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
"If it were up to me, there would be mandatory military service," said a mayor in Honduras who banned the battles.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
But not, on the other hand, since this is practically the mandatory tough-guy look.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
The disclosures were included in the mandatory end-of-quarter 13F filings provided by the San Francisco-headquartered fund, and the heavy concentration in just two companies, in closely-related sectors raises uncomfortable questions about risk management practices.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
The clubs fair was mandatory for the whole seventh grade.
From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead
By giving up the belts, he is stepping away from mandatories, the politics and the pressure to keep defending against whoever is next in line.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
There is also the issue of Usyk's mandatories, which could throw up one particularly eye-catching encounter.
From BBC ● Dec. 4, 2022
Instead he has dealt with a string of decent but unspectacular mandatories in Hagler-esque fashion as they have shuffled tentatively into his range.
From The Guardian ● May 9, 2016
In the Senate, the chairman of the powerful Judiciary Committee is Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, R-Montgomery, a former prosecutor who helped write many of the state’s drug mandatories in the 1990s.
From Washington Times ● May 30, 2015
We, the regular mandatories, we cannot avow a transaction with insurgents.
From History of the Commune of 1871 by P. Lissagary
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.
