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• normal
  normal

  adjective

  conforming to the standard or the common type; usual; not abnormal; regular; natural.
• Normal
  Normal

  noun

  a city in central Illinois.

normal

¹ American  

[nawr-muhl] / ˈnɔr məl /

adjective

1. conforming to the standard or the common type; usual; not abnormal; regular; natural.

2. serving to establish a standard.

3. Psychology.

   1. approximately average in any psychological trait, as intelligence, personality, or emotional adjustment.

   2. free from any mental disorder; sane.

4. Biology, Medicine/Medical.

   1. free from any infection or other form of disease or malformation, or from experimental therapy or manipulation.

   2. of natural occurrence.

5. Mathematics.

   1. being at right angles, as a line; perpendicular.

   2. of the nature of or relating to a mathematical normal.

   3. (of an orthogonal system of real functions) defined so that the integral of the square of the absolute value of any function is 1.

   4. (of a topological space) having the property that corresponding to every pair of disjoint closed sets are two disjoint open sets, each containing one of the closed sets.

   5. (of a set) having the property that the same set results when all the elements of the set are operated on consistently on the left and consistently on the right by any element of the set; invariant.

6. Chemistry.

   1. (of a solution) containing one equivalent weight of the constituent in question in one liter of solution.

   2. relating to an aliphatic hydrocarbon having a straight unbranched carbon chain, each carbon atom of which is joined to no more than two other carbon atoms.

   3. of or relating to a neutral salt in which any replaceable hydroxyl groups or hydrogen atoms have been replaced by other groups or atoms, as sodium sulfate, Na 2 SO 4 .

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noun

1. the standard or the common type.

2. the usual state, amount, level, etc., especially the average or mean.

   Production may fall below normal.

3. Mathematics.

   1. a perpendicular line or plane, especially one perpendicular to a tangent line of a curve, or a tangent plane of a surface, at the point of contact.

   2. the portion of this perpendicular line included between its point of contact with the curve and the x- axis.

Normal ² American  

[nawr-muhl] / ˈnɔr məl /

noun

1. a city in central Illinois.

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normal British  

/ ˈnɔːməl /

adjective

1. usual; regular; common; typical

   the normal way of doing it

   the normal level

2. constituting a standard

   if we take this as normal

3. psychol

   1. being within certain limits of intelligence, educational success or ability, etc

   2. conforming to the conventions of one's group

4. biology med (of laboratory animals) maintained in a natural state for purposes of comparison with animals treated with drugs, etc

5.  N.  chem (of a solution) containing a number of grams equal to the equivalent weight of the solute in each litre of solvent

6. chem denoting a straight-chain hydrocarbon: a normal alkane . Prefix: n-, e.g. n- octane

7. geometry another word for perpendicular

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noun

1. the usual, average, or typical state, degree, form, etc

2. anything that is normal

3. geometry a line or plane perpendicular to another line or plane or to the tangent of a curved line or plane at the point of contact

Other Word Forms

• normality
  noun
• normalness
  noun
• antinormal
  adjective
• half-normal
  adjective
• hypernormal
  adjective
• nonnormal
  adjective
• overnormal
  adjective
• quasi-normal
  adjective
• seminormal
  adjective
• unnormal
  adjective
• quasi-normally
  adverb
• seminormally
  adverb
• unnormally
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of normal

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin normālis “made according to a carpenter's square,” equivalent to norm(a) ( see norm) + -ālis adjective suffix; see -al ¹

Explanation

If something conforms to a general pattern, standard, or average, we describe it as normal, but of course that standard can change over time. What's normal today may be "abnormal" in the future. The word normal comes from a Latin word normalis, which described something made with a carpenter's square. Something built this way would be normed to have angles that were perfectly aligned and fit a general pattern. This meaning eventually gave us the broader sense of fitting a pattern, standard, or average. Doctors like you to be a normal weight for your height, so you may need to grow taller to make your doctor happy.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

normal Normal

After a minute or so he exhales, but not a normal exhale, and then I hear him say something but can’t make it out over the traffic and the rage-triggered ringing in my ears.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

A single blood test taken at one moment could therefore capture a period when hormone levels appear relatively normal.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026

Several parents who employ house managers said they wish all families could afford one; that the benefit be seen as normal and not a luxury.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

That could mean the pregnancy is ectopic, but it may also be a miscarriage or normal pregnancy that’s too small to see.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026

But the human workers had spotted him, and apparently, they’d gotten a good enough look to see that Clare was no normal fox.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Normal cells, which are under less strain and have better defenses, are more likely to survive.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026

Rivian currently builds its EVs at a plant in Normal, Ill., about three hours from Chicago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

Professor Xu Xiaoke from Beijing Normal University told the BBC that greater efforts were also needed to verify geographic locations with timestamps and the checking of image sources.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

Waymo’s San Diego service area will include Pacific Beach, Normal Heights, La Playa and Southcrest, among other neighborhoods, the company said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

“Sleep, play, dig, aggravate my uncle. Normal badger stuff.”

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Related Words

• natural
• orderly
• ordinary
• regular
• routine
• traditional
• typical