modular
Americanadjective
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of or relating to a module or a modulus.
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composed of standardized units or sections for easy construction or flexible arrangement.
a modular home; a modular sofa.
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Mathematics. (of a lattice) having the property that for any two elements with one less than the other, the union of the smaller element with the intersection of the larger element and any third element of the lattice is equal to the intersection of the larger element with the union of the smaller element and the third element.
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Computers. composed of software or hardware modules that can be altered or replaced without affecting the remainder of the system.
noun
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something, as a house or piece of furniture, built or organized in self-contained units or sections.
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a self-contained unit or item, as of furniture, that can be combined or interchanged with others like it to create different shapes or designs.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of modular
From the New Latin word modulāris, dating back to 1790–1800. See module, -ar 1
Explanation
Use the adjective modular to describe something that is made up of pieces or parts, like a gerbil's habitat of tubes and cages, or a new house that is delivered in sections and then assembled. Things like houses, cars, airplanes, and computers are all often constructed in a modular way. Rather than being built all at once, they are built in separate parts that get assembled into a finished product. The word modular has been used this way since the 1930s — earlier, it was a purely mathematical term, from the Latin word modulus, or "small measure."
Vocabulary lists containing modular
Ready Player One
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Internment
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In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse
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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.
“Our modular approach is meeting this need today.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unveiled plans for modular, quickly-deployed data centers to begin AI work while permanent infrastructure is being built.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
The striking sculpture will hover over a cozy space with modular bookshelves that are arranged on a floor covered in book quotes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
The thousands of small modular reactors needed would mean this unproven technology gets perfected and building costs go way down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Jimmy lived with his parents in a modular house on the east side.
From "In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse" by Joseph Marshall III
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
