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definitions

mode

1
[mohd]
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mode ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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RELATED WORDS

status, style, fashion, tone, form, process, quality, technique, system, mechanism, condition, situation, approach, method, procedure, posture, wise, practice, rule, custom

Origin of mode

1
1250–1300; Middle English mod(e) (< Old French) < Latin modus measured amount, limit, manner, kind, tone
Can be confusedmode modulemode mood

Synonyms for mode

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mode ON THESAURUS.COM
1. See method.

mode

2
[mohd]

noun

fashion or style in manners, dress, etc.: He was much concerned to keep up with the latest mode.
a light gray or drab color.

Origin of mode

2
1635–45; < French < Latin modus; see mode1

à la mode

[ah luh mohd, al-uh-; French a la mawd]

adjective

in or according to the fashion.
Cookery.
  1. (of pie or other dessert) served with a portion of ice cream, often as a topping: apple pie à la mode.
  2. (of beef) larded and braised or stewed with vegetables, herbs, etc., and served with a rich brown gravy.
Also a la mode, alamode.

Origin of à la mode

Borrowed into English from French around 1640–50
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mode

British Dictionary definitions for mode

mode

noun

a manner or way of doing, acting, or existing
the current fashion or style
music
  1. any of the various scales of notes within one octave, esp any of the twelve natural diatonic scales taken in ascending order used in plainsong, folk song, and art music until 1600
  2. (in the music of classical Greece) any of the descending diatonic scales from which the liturgical modes evolved
  3. either of the two main scale systems in music since 1600major mode; minor mode
logic linguistics another name for modality (def. 3), mood 2 (def. 2)
philosophy a complex combination of ideas the realization of which is not determined by the component ideas
that one of a range of values that has the highest frequency as determined statisticallyCompare mean 3 (def. 4), median (def. 6)
the quantitative mineral composition of an igneous rock
physics one of the possible configurations of a travelling or stationary wave
physics one of the fundamental vibrations

Word Origin for mode

C14: from Latin modus measure, manner

à la mode

adjective

fashionable in style, design, etc
(of meats) braised with vegetables in wine
mainly US and Canadian (of desserts) served with ice cream

Word Origin for à la mode

C17: from French: according to the fashion
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for mode
n.1

"manner," late 14c., "kind of musical scale," from Latin modus "measure, extent, quantity; proper measure, rhythm, song; a way, manner, fashion, style" (in Late Latin also "mood" in grammar and logic), from PIE root *med- "to measure, limit, consider, advise, take appropriate measures" (see medical). Meaning "manner in which a thing is done" first recorded 1660s.

n.2

"current fashion," 1640s, from French mode "manner, fashion, style" (15c.), from Latin modus "manner" (see mode (n.1)).

a la mode

1640s, from French à la mode (15c.), literally "in the fashion" (see mode (n.2)). In 17c., sometimes nativized as all-a-mode. Cookery sense of a dessert served with ice cream is 1903, American English.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for mode

mode

[mōd]

n.

The value or item occurring most frequently in a series of observations or statistical data.
The number or range of numbers in a mathematical set that occurs the most frequently.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Science definitions for mode

mode

[mōd]

The value that occurs most frequently in a data set. For example, in the set 125, 140, 172, 164, 140, 110, the mode is 140. Compare arithmetic mean average median.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Culture definitions for mode

mode

In statistics, the most frequently appearing value in a set of numbers or data points. In the numbers 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 4, 9, 6, 8, and 6, the mode is 6, because it appears more often than any of the other figures. (See average; compare mean and median.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.