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  1. modus operandi love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A method of operating or functioning.
  2. n. A person's manner of working.

Wiktionary

  1. n. colloquial A person or thing's normal mode of operation.
  2. n. law enforcement A known criminal's established habits and mode of work when committing specific offences, especially fraud, matched with characteristics of an unsolved crime to narrow down (limit to a specific list) or profile suspects.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. manner of operating. Often abbreviated to MO

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. an unvarying or habitual method or procedure

Etymologies

  1. From Latin modus operandi, from modus ("manner, method") and operandi ("of working") (Wiktionary)
  2. New Latin modus operandī : Latin modus, mode + Latin operandī, genitive sing. gerund of operārī, to work. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “Evidently," continued Crooks, "for had I broken your laws, you would not have been under the necessity of violating them and adopting the sublime modus operandi of Mob Law to punish me.”

    Life of Rev. A. Crooks, A. M.

  • “This modus operandi very much reflected Lanzagorta’s entrepreneurial style and his way of expanding the group by creating and controlling companies.”

    Simon & Schuster: Strategic Management in Developing Countries Case Studies

  • “It was neeessary for the simple reason that there were too many potential Slashers out there, waiting for a modus operandi to be disclosed so that they could grab a piece of the publicity.”

    the dirty duck

  • “And is the task-avoidance assumption of fight not the prevalent modus operandi in the chaotic arena of international relations?”

    Simon & Schuster: THE DIFFERENT DRUM

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synonyms (1)

Words with the same meaning

  1. MO

hypernyms (2)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. process
  1. procedure

hyponyms (3)

Words that are more specific

  1. groove
  1. rut
  1. rat race

reverse dictionary (2)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. mo
  1. MO

tags (1)

Free-form, user-generated categorization

  1. latin

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‘modus operandi’ has been looked up 4650 times, loved by 8 people, added to 30 lists, commented on 1 time, and is not a valid Scrabble word.