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.
Connected devices routinely send information back to the router to help optimize wireless communication.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
Gas infrastructure routinely experiences breakdowns or technical disruptions that halt flows.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
The rocket company routinely sold private shares to close friends and early investors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
A landmark 2011 study of six Indian cities found that India's streets routinely fail pedestrians because of "poor and unsafe" infrastructure.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Anchors* securing the ladders and lines routinely melted out when the afternoon sun warmed the surrounding ice and snow.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
![]()
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.