modifier

[ mod-uh-fahy-er ]

/ ˈmɒd əˌfaɪ ər /

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noun

a person or thing that modifies.

Grammar.

a word, phrase, or sentence element that limits or qualifies the sense of another word, phrase, or element in the same construction.
the immediate constituent of an endocentric construction that is not the head.

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Origin of modifier

First recorded in 1575–85; modify + -er¹

grammar notes for modifier

See dangling participle, misplaced modifier.

Words nearby modifier

modificand, modification, modificatory, modified American plan, modified-release, modifier, modify, Modigliani, modillion, modiolus, modish

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use modifier in a sentence

Even though some advertisers argue that there is little differentiation between broad match modifier and phrase match, they’ll soon need to get used to not having the former and creating new keywords in the updated phrase match moving forward.
Google expands phrase match to include broad match modifier traffic|George Nguyen|February 4, 2021|Search Engine Land
We tend to run our campaigns using broad-match modifiers initially.
PPC award winners talk strategies for competitive times, industries, and marketplaces|Carolyn Lyden|January 29, 2021|Search Engine Land
For instance, if you search for evergreen plants, Pinterest will offer you a whole range of popular query modifiers.
Pinterest SEO guide: Eight tips for search-friendly pins|Aleh Barysevich|January 26, 2021|Search Engine Watch
Your strategy and ability to be aggressive might be different for different targets, keywords, etc… This is a great place to understand your various customers, some are more valuable than others and can impact your bid modifiers.
Search engine saturation: The ever evolving SERP and how brands are responding|Jason Tabeling|December 28, 2020|Search Engine Watch

You can also use campaign bid modifiers for the specific industries or job functions of your target customers.
Microsoft Advertising expands LinkedIn Profile, dynamic remarketing, in-market audience targeting|Ginny Marvin|September 4, 2020|Search Engine Land
On the summer programming spectrum, it skewed more towards “just plain silly,” sans the “but still curious” modifier.
WGN’s ‘Manhattan’ Is Summer’s Best New Show. But Will Anyone Watch?|Kevin Fallon|July 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But not effortlessly charming, which is usually the modifier when someone uses "charming" as an adjective.
Lena Dunham on 'SNL' Review: Very Funny, Very Dunham-y|Kevin Fallon|March 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The ‘Zionist’ modifier is crucial because it differentiates between the situation in Israel/Palestine and Afrikaaner Apartheid.
Levy is Right|Yousef Munayyer|July 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Chateaubriand was a kind of continuer and modifier of a celebrated French writer that preceded him.
French Classics|William Cleaver Wilkinson
Change the order of words in the following sentences, placing each modifier as closely as possible to the word which it modifies.
Business English|Rose Buhlig
Those groups in which the first part is the principal one, followed by a word or phrase making a modifier.
An English Grammar|W. M. Baskervill and J. W. Sewell
Both of these are now used side by side; sometimes they are used together, as one modifier, making a double possessive.
An English Grammar|W. M. Baskervill and J. W. Sewell
That is, do not place between two parts of a sentence a modifier that may attach itself to either.
The Century Handbook of Writing|Garland Greever

British Dictionary definitions for modifier

modifier

/ (ˈmɒdɪˌfaɪə) /

noun

Also called: qualifier grammar a word or phrase that qualifies the sense of another word; for example, the noun alarm is a modifier of clock in alarm clock and the phrase every day is an adverbial modifier of walks in he walks every day

a person or thing that modifies

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

Cultural definitions for modifier

modifier

A word or group of words that describes or limits a verb, noun, adjective, or adverb. Modifiers applied to nouns are adjectives. Modifiers applied to verbs or adjectives are adverbs. Those that are applied to adverbs themselves are also called adverbs.

modifier

Origin of modifier

grammar notes for modifier

Words nearby modifier

Words related to modifier

How to use modifier in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for modifier

Cultural definitions for modifier