model

[ mod-l ]

/ ˈmɒd l /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR model ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a standard or example for imitation or comparison.

a representation, generally in miniature, to show the construction or appearance of something.

an image in clay, wax, or the like, to be reproduced in more durable material.

a person or thing that serves as a subject for an artist, sculptor, writer, etc.

a person whose profession is posing for artists or photographers.

a person employed to wear clothing or pose with a product for purposes of display and advertising.

a style or design of a particular product: His car is last year's model.

a pattern or mode of structure or formation.

a typical form or style.

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.

Zoology. an animal that is mimicked in form or color by another.

adjective

serving as an example or model: a model home open to prospective buyers.

worthy to serve as a model; exemplary: a model student.

being a small or miniature version of something: He enjoyed building model ships.

verb (used with object), mod·eled, mod·el·ing or (especially British) mod·elled, mod·el·ling.

to form or plan according to a model.

to give shape or form to; fashion.

to make a miniature model of.

to fashion in clay, wax, or the like.

to simulate (a process, concept, or the operation of a system), commonly with the aid of a computer.

to display to other persons or to prospective customers, especially by wearing: to model dresses.

to use or include as an element in a larger construct: to model new data into the forecast.

verb (used without object), mod·eled, mod·el·ing or (especially British) mod·elled, mod·el·ling.

to make models.

to produce designs in some plastic material.

to assume a typical or natural appearance, as the parts of a drawing in progress.

to serve or be employed as a model.

Nearby words

modal logic, modality, modally, modding, mode, model, model t, model theory, modeler, modeling, modelist

Origin of model

1565–75; earlier modell < Middle French modelle < Italian modello < Vulgar Latin *modellus, equivalent to Latin mod(ulus) (see module) + -ellus -elle

SYNONYMS FOR model

1 paragon; prototype, archetype, mold, original.

16 design.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR model ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsmod·el·er; especially British, mod·el·ler, nounpre·mod·el, verb (used without object), pre·mod·eled, pre·mod·el·ing or (especially British) pre·mod·elled, pre·mod·el·ling.un·mod·eled, adjectiveun·mod·elled, adjective

Synonym study

1. See ideal.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for model

If the Israel model ban were directed towards disordered eating, Ravin says she would support it whole-heartedly.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
They are model citizens, the kind of people whose lives might be used as exemplary stories by a politician in a stump speech.
The 2014 Novel of the Year|Nathaniel Rich|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Banking malware and certain “crimeware” kits have been using this model for years.
No, North Korea Didn’t Hack Sony|Marc Rogers|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On the cover, Wonder Woman resembles a 16-year-old model doing a pee-pee dance.
Wonder Woman Takes a Big Step Back|Hugh Ryan|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

It involved a model of the tower set on its side for the shot.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On the model's face was her faint, impersonal professional smile that seemed to cover something like weariness or contempt.
The Trimmed Lamp|O. Henry
In the same cemetery we find examples of tombs which the architect has constructed, not after an Egyptian, but a Chaldan model.
History Of Egypt, Chalda, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 6 (of 12)|G. Maspero
Other features are a rose garden, enclosed in the ripest of all the old red walls, and a model farm.
Denis Dent|Ernest W. Hornung
In this respect the Russian army may be taken as a model by all others.
The Art of War|Baron Henri de Jomini
The French, prior to the Revolution, were passionately fond of the drama, which was then entirely founded on the Greek model.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 370, August 1846|Various

British Dictionary definitions for model

model

/ (ˈmɒdəl) /

noun

a representation, usually on a smaller scale, of a device, structure, etc
(as modifier)a model train

a standard to be imitatedshe was my model for good scholarship
(as modifier)a model wife

a representative form, style, or pattern

a person who poses for a sculptor, painter, or photographer

a person who wears clothes to display them to prospective buyers; mannequin

a preparatory sculpture in clay, wax, etc, from which the finished work is copied

a design or style, esp one of a series of designs of a particular productlast year's model

British

an original unique article of clothing
(as modifier)a model coat

a simplified representation or description of a system or complex entity, esp one designed to facilitate calculations and predictions

logic

an interpretation of a formal system under which the theorems derivable in that system are mapped onto truths
a theory in which a given sentence is true

verb -els, -elling or -elled or US -els, -eling or -eled

to make a model of (something or someone)

to form in clay, wax, etc; mould

to display (clothing and accessories) as a mannequin

to plan or create according to a model or models

to arrange studio lighting so that highlights and shadows emphasize the desired features of a human form or an inanimate object

Derived Formsmodeller or US modeler, noun

Word Origin for model

C16: from Old French modelle, from Italian modello, from Latin modulus, diminutive of modus mode

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 model (1 of 3)

model

1570s, "likeness made to scale; architect's set of designs," from Middle French modelle (16c., Modern French modèle), from Italian modello "a model, mold," from Vulgar Latin *modellus, from Latin modulus "a small measure, standard," diminutive of modus "manner, measure" (see mode (n.1)).

Sense of "thing or person to be imitated" is 1630s. Meaning "motor vehicle of a particular design" is from 1900 (e.g. Model T, 1908; Ford's other early models included C, F, and B). Sense of "artist's model" is first recorded 1690s; that of "fashion model" is from 1904. German, Swedish modell, Dutch, Danish model are from French or Italian.

Word Origin and History for model (1 of 3)

model

1660s, "fashion in clay or wax," from model (n.). Earlier was modelize (c.1600). From 1915 in the sense "to act as a fashion model, to display (clothes)." Related: Modeled; modeling; modelled; modelling.

Word Origin and History for model (2 of 3)

model

adj.

1844, from model (n.).

Science definitions for model

model

[ mŏd′l ]

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. See also hypothesis theory.

model

noun

adjective

verb (used with object), mod·eled, mod·el·ing or (especially British) mod·elled, mod·el·ling.

verb (used without object), mod·eled, mod·el·ing or (especially British) mod·elled, mod·el·ling.

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Origin of model

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for model

British Dictionary definitions for model

model

noun

verb -els, -elling or -elled or US -els, -eling or -eled

Word Origin for model

Word Origin and History for model (1 of 3)

model

Word Origin and History for model (1 of 3)

model

Word Origin and History for model (2 of 3)

model

Science definitions for model

model