regular

[ reg-yuh-ler ]

/ ˈrɛg yə lər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR regular ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

usual; normal; customary: to put something in its regular place.

evenly or uniformly arranged; symmetrical: regular teeth.

characterized by fixed principle, uniform procedure, etc.: regular income.

recurring at fixed times; periodic: regular bus departures; regular meals.

rhythmical: regular breathing.

occurring with normal frequency, as menses or bowel movements.

having regular menses or bowel movements.

adhering to a rule or procedure; methodical: regular habits; to be regular in one's diet.

observing fixed times or habits; habitual: a regular customer.

orderly; well-ordered: a regular life.

conforming to some accepted rule, discipline, etc.

carried out in accordance with an accepted principle or rule; formally correct: a regular session of the court.

qualified to engage in an occupation or profession; legitimate; proper: I suspected the man wasn't a regular doctor.

Informal.

real or genuine; down-to-earth; decent: a regular guy.
absolute; thoroughgoing: a regular rascal.

(of a flower) having the members of each of its floral circles or whorls alike in form and size.

Grammar. conforming to the most prevalent pattern of formation, inflection, construction, etc.a regular verb.

Mathematics.

governed by one law throughout.
(of a polygon) having all sides and angles equal.
(of a polyhedron) having all faces congruent regular polygons, and all solid angles congruent.
(of a topological space) having the property that, corresponding to each point and a closed set not containing the point, there are two disjoint open sets, one containing the point, the other containing the closed set.
(of a function of a complex variable) analytic(def 5a).

Military. noting or belonging to the permanently organized, or standing, army of a state.

International Law. noting soldiers recognized as legitimate combatants in warfare.

Ecclesiastical. subject to a religious rule, or belonging to a religious or monastic order (opposed to secular): regular clergy.

U.S. Politics. of, relating to, or selected by the recognized agents of a political party: the regular ticket.

of or relating to a product, as a food or beverage, that has the original formula or typical ingredients, usually used to contrast with a modified version of the same product: regular or diet soda;regular yogurt or soy yogurt;regular gasoline or premium.

(of coffee) containing an average amount of milk or cream.

noun

a long-standing or habitual customer or client: The restaurant can always find tables for its regulars.

Ecclesiastical. a member of a duly constituted religious order under a rule.

Military. a professional soldier.

U.S. Politics. a party member who faithfully stands by his or her party.

a size of garment designed for men of average build.

a garment, as a suit or overcoat, in this size.

an athlete who plays in most of the games, usually from the start.

Nearby words

regt., reguardant, regula, regulable, regulant, regular, regular army, regular as clockwork, regular astigmatism, regular bevel, regular checking account

Origin of regular

1350–1400; Middle English reguler (adj.) < Middle French < Late Latin rēgulāris. See regula, -ar¹

SYNONYMS FOR regular

2 even, formal, orderly, uniform.

4 habitual, established, fixed.

8 systematic.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR regular ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

reg·u·lar·i·ty

[reg-yuh-lar-i-tee] /ˌrɛg yəˈlær ɪ ti/, reg·u·lar·ness, nounqua·si-reg·u·lar, adjectivequa·si-reg·u·lar·ly, adverbsub·reg·u·lar, adjective

sub·reg·u·lar·i·ty, noun

Can be confusedregular routine

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

Examples from the Web for regular

But they say its effect on the regular daily operation of organized crime has been negligible.
Mexico’s Priests Are Marked for Murder|Jason McGahan|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
His hero, Bruce Springsteen, is a gazillionaire, but he still manages to come across as a regular guy, so perception is reality.
Will Chris Christie Regret His Cowboy Hug?|Matt Lewis|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And with regular clients that see him at least twice a month, relationships inevitably form.
Career-Minded Women Turn to Male Escorts For No-Strings Fun and (Maybe) Sex|Aurora Snow|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yet the email references the 1970s, “when police officers were ambushed and executed on a regular basis.”
We Need Our Police to Be Better Than This|Nick Gillespie|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Park employees helped John quit tobacco by way of a butts-proof glass enclosure, a drastic change in diet, and regular exercise.
Zebra Finches, Dolphins, Elephants, and More Animals Under the Influence|Bill Schulz|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They are just a regular chair—with a long desk, something like this here.
Warren Commission (7 of 26): Hearings Vol. VII (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
If stamping is desired, make rows of small circles, regular or irregular, by using the nail set and a wood mallet.
The Boy Mechanic, Book 2|Various
The light was not regular—it disappeared at regular intervals, was blotted out.
The Street of Seven Stars|Mary Roberts Rinehart
Current topics, too, are well worthy constant study, and these can be used as a sort of prelude to any regular program.
Woman's Club Work and Programs|Caroline French Benton
But he was a regular tyrant over the rest of the boys; they were more than half afraid of him; I don't know but what I was myself.
Tip Lewis and His Lamp|Pansy

British Dictionary definitions for regular

regular

/ (ˈrɛɡjʊlə) /

adjective

normal, customary, or usual

according to a uniform principle, arrangement, or ordertrees planted at regular intervals

occurring at fixed or prearranged intervalsto make a regular call on a customer

following a set rule or normal practice; methodical or orderly

symmetrical in appearance or form; evenregular features

(prenominal) organized, elected, conducted, etc, in a proper or officially prescribed manner

(prenominal) officially qualified or recognizedhe's not a regular doctor

(prenominal) (intensifier)a regular fool

US and Canadian informal likable, dependable, or nice (esp in the phrase a regular guy)

denoting or relating to the personnel or units of the permanent military servicesa regular soldier; the regular army

(of flowers) having any of their parts, esp petals, alike in size, shape, arrangement, etc; symmetrical

(of the formation, inflections, etc, of a word) following the usual pattern of formation in a language

maths

(of a polygon) equilateral and equiangular
(of a polyhedron) having identical regular polygons as faces that make identical angles with each other
(of a prism) having regular polygons as bases
(of a pyramid) having a regular polygon as a base and the altitude passing through the centre of the base
another name for analytic (def. 5)

botany another word for actinomorphic

(postpositive) subject to the rule of an established religious order or communitycanons regular

US politics of, selected by, or loyal to the leadership or platform of a political partya regular candidate; regular policies

crystallog another word for cubic (def. 4)

noun

a professional long-term serviceman or -woman in a military unit

informal a person who does something regularly, such as attending a theatre or patronizing a shop

a member of a religious order or congregation, as contrasted with a secular

US politics a party member loyal to the leadership, organization, platform, etc, of his or her party

Derived Formsregularity, nounregularly, adverb

Word Origin for regular

C14: from Old French reguler, from Latin rēgulāris of a bar of wood or metal, from rēgula ruler, model

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 regular (1 of 2)

regular

adj.

late 14c., from Old French reguler "ecclesiastical" (Modern French r*#233;gulier), from Late Latin regularis "containing rules for guidance," from Latin regula "rule," from PIE *reg- "move in a straight line" (see regal).

Earliest sense was of religious orders (the opposite of secular). Extended from late 16c. to shapes, etc., that followed predictable or uniform patterns; sense of "normal" is from 1630s; meaning "real, genuine" is from 1821. Old English borrowed Latin regula and nativized it as regol "rule, regulation, canon, law, standard, pattern;" hence regolsticca "ruler" (instrument); regollic (adj.) "canonical, regular."

Word Origin and History for regular (1 of 2)

regular

c.1400, "member of a religious order," from regular (adj.). Sense of "soldier of a standing army" is from 1756. Meaning "regular customer" is from 1852; meaning "leaded gasoline" is from 1978.