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.
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.
Origin of regular
1350–1400;Middle Englishreguler (adj.) < Middle French < Late Latinrēgulāris. See regula, -ar1
Related formsreg·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, adjectivesub·reg·u·lar·i·ty, nounCan be confusedregularroutine
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."
n.
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.
