a procedure, technique, or way of doing something, especially in accordance with a definite plan.
There are three possible methods of repairing this motor.
a manner or mode of procedure, especially an orderly, logical, or systematic way of instruction, inquiry, investigation, experiment, presentation, etc..
the empirical method of inquiry.
order or system in doing anything.
to work with method.
orderly or systematic arrangement, sequence, or the like.
Also called Stanislavski Method. Also called Stanislavski System. the Method. a theory and technique of acting in which the performer identifies with the character to be portrayed and renders the part in a naturalistic, nondeclamatory, and highly individualized manner.
Method, mode, way imply a manner in which a thing is done or in which it happens. Method refers to a settled kind of procedure, usually according to a definite, established, logical, or systematic plan: the open-hearth method of making steel; one method of solving a problem. Mode is a more formal word that implies a customary or characteristic fashion of doing something: Kangaroos have a peculiar mode of carrying their young. Way, a word in popular use for the general idea, is equivalent to various more specific words: someone's way (manner) of walking; the best way (method) of rapid calculating; the way (mode) of holding a pen.
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English: “medical procedure,” Latin methodus, from Greek méthodos “systematic course,” equivalent to met- meta- + hodós “way, road”
There's a certain way of doing things. A systematic, logical process for accomplishing a task. And it's called a method. There are methods of payment, production methods, and even "method acting." If someone asks if there's a "method to your madness," she wants to make sure there's some kind of plan behind all the crazy stuff you're doing. If you've thought it through and have organized the next steps, go ahead and tell them to buzz off, it's just your method of getting things done.
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“We need a good extraction method that can actually pull trash out in a rapid amount of time.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026
Kobliner said her method is closest to “pay yourself first,” which gives priority to saving first, and then proceeds to needs and wants.
From MarketWatch • May 14, 2026
San Antonio has a history, a culture, and a method, especially with big men.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
The Federal Reserve uses a method that at least benefits from clarity and consistency.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
Or if you know your scales and don't want to learn about intervals, you can use the method in #3 instead.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
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.
