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definitions

usual

[yoo-zhoo-uhl, yoozh-wuhl]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR usual ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

habitual or customary: her usual skill.
commonly met with or observed in experience; ordinary: the usual January weather.
commonplace; everyday: He says the usual things.

noun

something that is usual: He could expect only the usual.

Idioms

    as usual, in the customary or usual manner: As usual, he forgot my birthday.

Origin of usual

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin ūsuālis, equivalent to Latin ūsu-, stem of ūsus use (see use (noun)) + -ālis -al1; compare Old French usuel
Related formsu·su·al·ly, adverbu·su·al·ness, noun

Synonyms for usual

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR usual ON THESAURUS.COM
1. accustomed. Usual, customary, habitual refer to a settled and constant practice. Usual indicates something that is to be expected by reason of previous experience, which shows it to occur more often than not: There were the usual crowds at the celebration. Something that is customary is in accordance with prevailing usage or individual practice: It is customary to finish up with a bonfire. That which is habitual has become settled or constant as the result of habit on the part of the individual: The merchants wore habitual smiles throughout the season. 2. general, prevailing, prevalent, familiar, regular. 3. expected, predictable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for usual

conventional, constant, normal, familiar, natural, current, regular, routine, expected, customary, everyday, frequent, prevailing, accepted, accustomed, average, chronic, commonplace, cut-and-dried, fixed

Examples from the Web for usual

Contemporary Examples of usual

Historical Examples of usual

  • On this day, however, Philothea's mind was less serene than usual.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • Anaxagoras retained his usual bland expression and meek dignity.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • There was another debate over Spring, who had followed his master as usual.

    The Armourer's Prentices

    Charlotte M. Yonge

  • "Count me in, please," said Blanche, in her usual vein of frankness.

    Malbone

    Thomas Wentworth Higginson

  • As usual, balm was on his lips, and I found encouragement and support.

British Dictionary definitions for usual

usual

adjective

of the most normal, frequent, or regular type; customarythat's the usual sort of application to send

noun

ordinary or commonplace events (esp in the phrase out of the usual)
the usual informal the habitual or usual drink, meal, etc
Derived Formsusualness, noun

Word Origin for usual

C14: from Late Latin ūsuālis ordinary, from Latin ūsus use
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 usual
adj.

late 14c., from Old French usuel (late 13c.), from Late Latin usualis "ordinary," from Latin usus "custom" (see use). The usual suspects is from a line delivered by Claude Rains (as a French police inspector) in "Casablanca" (1942).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with usual

usual

see as usual; business as usual.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.