routine

American  

[roo-teen] / ruˈtin /

noun

• routines
  plural

1. 

   a customary or regular course of procedure.

2. commonplace tasks, chores, or duties as must be done regularly or at specified intervals; typical or everyday activity.

   the routine of an office.

3. regular, unvarying, habitual, unimaginative, or rote procedure.

4. an unvarying and constantly repeated formula, as of speech or action; convenient or predictable response.

   Don't give me that brotherly-love routine!

5. Computers.

   1. a complete set of coded instructions directing a computer to perform a series of operations.

   2. a series of operations performed by the computer.

6. an individual act, performance, or part of a performance, as a song or dance, given regularly by an entertainer.

   a comic routine; a dance routine.

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adjective

1. of the nature of, proceeding by, or adhering to routine.

   routine duties.

2. dull or uninteresting; commonplace.

   Synonyms:

   typical, ordinary, habitual

routine British  

/ ruːˈtiːn /

noun

1. a usual or regular method of procedure, esp one that is unvarying

2. computing a program or part of a program performing a specific function

   an input routine

   an output routine

3. a set sequence of dance steps

4. informal a hackneyed or insincere speech

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of routine

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• routineness
  noun
• nonroutine
  adjective
• unroutine
  adjective
• routinely
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• routines
  plural

Etymology

Origin of routine

First recorded in 1670–80; from French, derivative of route route

Explanation

A routine is like a habit or sequence that doesn't vary. There are daily routines and dance routines, and maybe even daily dance routines. Something routine isn't unusual: routine things happen all the time. Most jobs have a routine — things that must be done on a regular basis. People often get surprised by things that aren't part of their routine, or "shake up their routine." Computer routines are predetermined and predictable. Singers and dancers also have routines — the planned performances they've (hopefully) been practicing.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

routine routines

A routine experiment involving a microscopic organism from a freshwater pond led scientists to an extraordinary genetic discovery.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

We can’t explain the pain of seeing descriptions of Christa’s injuries on routine government documents, or of every subsequent horror we’ve faced.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

For Abdel Raqeeb, the risk has become routine.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

Reaves, who tweaked his ankle in practice, still went through his pregame warmup routine Monday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

“Your stand-up routine was hysterical last year,” says Siraj.

From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein

Katie Whitson, a registered dietician at Health Loft, said that for those who come to see her with concerns about their cortisol, instead of taking tests, she recommends tracking their daily routines.

From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026

That pattern suggests pacing may have been more strongly connected to familiar daily routines and the expectation of feeding than to hunger itself.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

Since settling down, Walsh has taken comfort in routines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Abbey, who has endometriosis which she says causes her to feel bloated, began doing her own massage routines twice a week aer seeing social media posts about lymphatic drainage.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

Other girls proudly wrote out their exacting routines of work and study to astound their loving parents.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Related Words

• act
• custom
• cycle
• drill
• groove
• habit
• method
• pace
• pattern
• piece
• practice
• procedure
• program
• system
• technique
• use