Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Old French
Origin: reguler, from Latin regularis, from regula 'edge for drawing straight lines, rule', from regere; REGENT

regular

1 adjective
     
Related topics: Shapes, Patterns, Grammar
reg‧u‧lar1 S2 W2
1

every hour/day/week etc

happening every hour, every week, every month etc, usually with the same amount of time in between [≠ irregular]:
The company holds regular meetings with employees.
His breathing was slow and regular.
Trains will run at regular intervals from 11am to 4pm.
We hear from him on a regular basis.
He phones us every Sunday at six, regular as clockwork (=always at the same time).
a regular job (=a job that you do during normal working hours)
2

often

[only before noun] happening or doing something very often [≠ irregular]:
a regular occurrence
Regular exercise helps keep your weight down.
regular customer/visitor
He's one of the bar's regular customers.
Penn Station was in regular use (=people used it often) until the 1960s.
3

usual

[only before noun] especially American English normal or usual:
He has returned to his regular duties.
Our regular opening hours are 10 am to 7pm.
4

equal distance

with the same amount of space between each thing and the next [≠ irregular]:
The pipes were placed at regular intervals.
a carpet with a regular pattern of flowers
5

ordinary

especially American English ordinary, without any special feature or qualities:
a regular type of guy
6

normal size

[only before noun] especially American English of a normal or standard size:
a regular Coke
7

shape

CF evenly shaped with parts or sides of equal size:
a regular hexagon
He's very handsome, with strong regular features (=an evenly shaped face).
8

grammar

technicalSLG a regular verb changes its forms in the same way as most verbs, for example its past tense and past participle end in 'ed'. The verb 'dance' is regular, but the verb 'be' is not [≠ irregular]
9

emphasizing

[only before noun] British English informal used to emphasize what you think someone is like [= real]:
He's a regular little dictator!
10

regular army/troops/soldier

PMA a regular army etc is permanent, and exists whether there is a war or not
11

be/keep regular

informal
a) MHBH to get rid of waste from your bowels often enough to be healthy
b) a woman who is regular has her menstrual period at the same time each month
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
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