methodology
Americannoun
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a set or system of methods, principles, and rules for regulating a given discipline, as in the arts or sciences.
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Philosophy.
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the underlying principles and rules of organization of a philosophical system or inquiry procedure.
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the study of the principles underlying the organization of the various sciences and the conduct of scientific inquiry.
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Education. a branch of pedagogics dealing with analysis and evaluation of subjects to be taught and of the methods of teaching them.
noun
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the system of methods and principles used in a particular discipline
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the branch of philosophy concerned with the science of method and procedure
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of methodology
From the New Latin word methodologia, dating back to 1790–1800. See method, -o-, -logy
Explanation
A methodology is a plan-of-attack, especially when that plan-of-attack is used repeatedly. This might be obvious, but the word methodology is related to the word method. In fact, a methodology is a system of methods followed consistently. Scientists, for example, use various methodologies as they perform experiments. It might seem like the world is nothing but chaos and disorder. But actually, sometimes there is a method to this madness. And sometimes there’s a methodology.
Vocabulary lists containing methodology
Power Suffix: -ology
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30 GRE Words Beginning with "K" "L""M" and "N" and "O"
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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.
Despite that, Marc Farinella, the executive director of the Center for Survey Methodology at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, expressed skepticism that Gallup’s shift came in response to pressure from Trump.
From Salon • Feb. 14, 2026
Methodology: The non-volatile phase-change material can be switched between an amorphous structure and a crystalline structure with a highly ordered atomic lattice.
From Science Daily • Oct. 23, 2023
Sprawling about 1.5 square miles, the town has 117.5 acres of developable land, per Klickitat County’s Buildable Lands Inventory Methodology Report.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 23, 2023
He was made first-team fitness coach by Johan Cruyff in 1994, and then anointed with the lofty title of "Head of Methodology" a decade later.
From BBC • May 24, 2023
"Methodology, therefore, which is generally made to take a subordinate place, should be regarded as the special, final, and chief aim of our science."
From International Congress of Arts and Science, Volume I Philosophy and Metaphysics by Various
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.
