routinely
Americanadverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of routinely
Explanation
When you do something routinely, you do it often and regularly. Many people routinely brush their teeth before they go to bed and again when they wake up in the morning. Something that's become a habit or an often repeated series of actions is done routinely. Your actual daily routine is one example of this — you might routinely eat cereal for breakfast, or routinely feed your cat at 5:00, for example. You can also say that a movie critic who always seems to find some fault with a film routinely trashes all your favorite movies. The French root is routine, "usual course of action," from route, "way or path."
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.
The road’s history is so well known that Dailey routinely suggested to Maddalyn that she leave the neighborhood another way to avoid it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
And even healthy bull markets routinely experience nasty corrections.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Some routinely put on a show: NYC0318, a whale also seen by AFP on a recent outing, often charms whale watchers with sensational lunge-feeds, breaching the water and prompting shrieks of delight.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
The sensitive medical data of transplant patients from across the UK was routinely sent over an unencrypted pager network, an NHS service has admitted.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Seth, on the other hand, settled for lousy grades, routinely skipped his homework, and earned frequent detentions.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
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.
