modus operandi
Americannoun
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a mode of operating or working.
The aim of a scientist is to investigate the modus operandi of the natural world.
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one’s usual way of doing something: MO
A criminal’s modus operandi can give the police a lead.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of modus operandi
First recorded in 1645–55; New Latin: literally “mode of working”
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.
It also abandoned its typical modus operandi by bringing in former Apple designer Jony Ive and his team, instead of relying solely on Ferrari’s in-house crew.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
The officer subsequently requested the case files for similar offences in the surrounding area with a comparable modus operandi.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
Other digital asset treasury companies that sought to ape Saylor’s modus operandi have suffered a similar fate.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 5, 2026
Three former case managers, who worked as liaisons between clients and attorneys, described the same modus operandi at DTLA: Sign up personal injury clients, then get them to agree to surgeries.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 31, 2025
Except when I glance at him, I see that his face has bricked up and I can tell running away is not part of his modus operandi.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
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.
