model
Americannoun
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models
plural
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a standard or example for imitation or comparison.
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a representation, generally in miniature, to show the construction or appearance of something.
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an image in clay, wax, or the like, to be reproduced in more durable material.
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a person or thing that serves as a subject for an artist, sculptor, writer, etc.
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a person whose profession is posing for artists or photographers.
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a person employed to wear clothing or pose with a product for purposes of display and advertising.
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a style or design of a particular product.
His car is last year's model.
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a pattern or mode of structure or formation.
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a typical form or style.
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a simplified representation of a system or phenomenon, as in the sciences or economics, with any hypotheses required to describe the system or explain the phenomenon, often mathematically.
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Zoology. an animal that is mimicked in form or color by another.
adjective
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serving as an example or model.
a model home open to prospective buyers.
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worthy to serve as a model; exemplary.
a model student.
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being a small or miniature version of something.
He enjoyed building model ships.
verb (used with object)
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models,
present (3rd person singular)
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modeled,
past participle, past
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modelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
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modeling,
present participle
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modelling
present participle (especially British)
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to form or plan according to a model.
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to give shape or form to; fashion.
- Synonyms:
- design
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to make a miniature model of.
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to fashion in clay, wax, or the like.
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to simulate (a process, concept, or the operation of a system), commonly with the aid of a computer.
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to display to other persons or to prospective customers, especially by wearing.
to model dresses.
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to use or include as an element in a larger construct.
to model new data into the forecast.
verb (used without object)
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models,
present (3rd person singular)
-
modeled,
past participle, past
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modelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
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modeling,
present participle
-
modelling
present participle (especially British)
-
to make models.
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to produce designs in some plastic material.
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to assume a typical or natural appearance, as the parts of a drawing in progress.
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to serve or be employed as a model.
noun
-
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a representation, usually on a smaller scale, of a device, structure, etc
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( as modifier )
a model train
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-
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a standard to be imitated
she was my model for good scholarship
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( as modifier )
a model wife
-
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a representative form, style, or pattern
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a person who poses for a sculptor, painter, or photographer
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a person who wears clothes to display them to prospective buyers; mannequin
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a preparatory sculpture in clay, wax, etc, from which the finished work is copied
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a design or style, esp one of a series of designs of a particular product
last year's model
-
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an original unique article of clothing
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( as modifier )
a model coat
-
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a simplified representation or description of a system or complex entity, esp one designed to facilitate calculations and predictions
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logic
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an interpretation of a formal system under which the theorems derivable in that system are mapped onto truths
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a theory in which a given sentence is true
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verb
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to make a model of (something or someone)
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to form in clay, wax, etc; mould
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to display (clothing and accessories) as a mannequin
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to plan or create according to a model or models
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to arrange studio lighting so that highlights and shadows emphasize the desired features of a human form or an inanimate object
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A systematic description of an object or phenomenon that shares important characteristics with the object or phenomenon. Scientific models can be material, visual, mathematical, or computational and are often used in the construction of scientific theories.
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See also hypothesis theory
Synonym Usage
See ideal.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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modelernoun
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modellernoun
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premodelverb (used without object)
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unmodeledadjective
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unmodelledadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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modelsimple
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modelssimple
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have modeledperfect
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have modelledperfect
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has modeledperfect
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has modelledperfect
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am modelingprogressive
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am modellingprogressive
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are modelingprogressive
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are modellingprogressive
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is modelingprogressive
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is modellingprogressive
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have been modelingperfect progressive
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have been modellingperfect progressive
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has been modelingperfect progressive
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has been modellingperfect progressive
Past
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modeledsimple
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modelledsimple
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had modeledperfect
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had modelledperfect
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was modelingprogressive
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was modellingprogressive
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were modelingprogressive
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were modellingprogressive
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had been modelingperfect progressive
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had been modellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of model
First recorded 1565–75; earlier modell, from Middle French modelle, from Italian modello, from Vulgar Latin modellus (unrecorded), equivalent to Latin mod(ulus), a unit of measurement ( see module) + -ellus -elle
Explanation
To model something is to show it off. To make a model of your favorite car is to create a miniature version of it. To be a model is to be so gorgeous that you’re photographed for a living. The word model, which can be a noun, verb, or adjective, comes from the Latin word modulus, meaning “measure,” or “standard.” If you are a model student, you do everything as the school and teachers wish: you are the standard. If you model your life on your hero's, you try to do what he or she does. If you are a clothing designer you will need to hire a model to model your creations.
Vocabulary lists containing model
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 3
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The Scientific Method
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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:
I’m obsessed with them all, both as a model for my future self and also the person I’d like to be right now—effortless, serene, perfect.
From Slate ● Oct. 11, 2026
The couple live in London, so opportunities to practise are scarce, but Murphy encourages Honey, who is a writer, podcaster and model, to practise speaking the language to their dog.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
The company says it feeds overnight data into a model to estimate resting blood pressure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
In another haul this year, thieves stole six 2026 model Jeep Wranglers from Oakland and Las Vegas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
Leonardo explains that he’s been unable to find the right model for Judas.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
The Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2 and newer models have FDA clearance to alert users to possible hypertension.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
While other AI models were implicated in certain other instances, most known cases were associated with OpenAI’s chatbot, and in particular the GPT-4o model, which was in service from May 2024 until early this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
For decades, researchers have largely depended on simplified models that capture the phenomenon only approximately.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026
The meeting followed a series of recent warnings from people inside the industry about the rapidly evolving capabilities of advanced or "frontier" AI models and the regulation needed to keep them in check.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
A cloud passed, and the full glare of the sun fell on this year’s 1904 models of the Case Agitator threshing machine.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Chesapeake built a 50-acre, Georgian-style corporate complex modeled after a college campus that it went on to expand, complete with four gourmet restaurants, a 72,000-square-foot gym and a vegetable garden.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
It is one of around 40 similar suits brought by cities, states, tribes and other local jurisdictions, modeled on successful litigation against tobacco and opioid producers.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
An estimated $1.4 million is behind the local ads, according to a modeled estimate from AdImpact.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
One workshop featured the creation of “mini moon bags,” modeled after pouches from the Soviet Hippie collection.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
Long before the invention of the World Wide Web, cognitive scientists modeled human memory as a network of nodes.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
The researchers modelled how climate change could shift the monal's suitable habitat across the Indian Himalayan region in the states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
“Our model reaches 151 tons/annum at run rate, 64% of Mt Weld’s modelled 235 tons/annum,” Jefferies says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Taking into account the world's ageing population, they then modelled how heat will affect the health of three different age ranges by 2100 under varying levels of global warming.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
She is a commentator for outlets within conservative French billionaire Vincent Bollore's media stable, including the CNews television channel, which is seen as modelled on America's Fox News.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
“The optimum population,” said Mustapha Mond, “is modelled on the iceberg—eight-ninths below the water line, one-ninth above.”
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
If the situation gets to the point where their reproduction is affected, modeling has shown there’s “essentially a 100% chance of extinction” within 50 years, he added.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Hooked on acting, she began modeling and making commercials.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
John Waldron has said he didn’t do well on the firm’s financial modeling test when he applied for a job decades ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
For 2027, Hosseini is modeling for Micron’s earnings per share to reach around $200, which he noted is above the consensus for $165.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
After dinner TJ works with me on modeling in heels.
From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles
It said modelling cannot accurately predict exactly when and where nurdles will wash up and the complete recovery of every nurdle was not considered achievable.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
For the new series, a glut of huge names and personalities from across the worlds of film, TV, music, modelling and broadcasting have also been selected.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
“Our modelling suggests eurozone headline inflation could rise above 3.5% later this year if current energy prices persist,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The threat that rising temperatures fuelled by climate change pose to the health of older people has been dramatically underestimated, according to a US modelling study published Tuesday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
I remember a time when I could only have been five or six, sitting at a low table beside Amanda C., our hands clammy with modelling clay.
From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
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.
