Word family noun regular regularity ≠ irregularity regularization adjective regular ≠ irregular verb regularize adverb regularly ≠ irregularly
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishregularreg‧u‧lar1 /ˈreɡjələ $ -ər/ ●●● S2 W2 adjective 1 REGULARevery hour/day/week etc happening every hour, every week, every month etc, usually with the same amount of time in between OPP 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 OFTENoften [only before noun] happening or doing something very often OPP 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]ORDINARY especially American English normal or usual He has returned to his regular duties. Our regular opening hours are 10am to 7pm.4 equal distance with the same amount of space between each thing and the next OPP irregular The pipes were placed at regular intervals. a carpet with a regular pattern of flowers5 ordinary especially American EnglishORDINARY ordinary, without any special feature or qualities a regular type of guy 6 normal size [only before noun] especially American EnglishORDINARY of a normal or standard size a regular Coke7 shapeCF 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. OPP irregular9 emphasizing [only before noun] British English informalVERY used to emphasize what you think someone is like SYN real He’s a regular little dictator!10 → regular army/troops/soldier11 → be/keep regularExamples from the Corpus
regular• If they don't have Tylenol, just get me regular aspirin.• More than 60% of adults drink wine on a regular basis.• There is a regular bus service into Oxford, easy access to the Ring Road and local shops in Wolvercote village.• It's important to visit your dentist for regular check-ups.• a regular churchgoer• Here at the Moredon Community Gardening Centre, there are regular classes on anything from hanging baskets to dried flower arranging.• Do you want decaffeinated or regular coffee?• I'd like a cheeseburger and a regular Coke.• These countries are able to practise open trading because their elephant herds are now big enough to demand regular culling.• Dr. Garrison is a regular doctor, not a specialist.• Do you do any regular exercise?• The exhibitions by young artists formed a regular feature of the London arts scene.• She was attractive rather than beautiful, with regular features and dark hair.• Nat got his fine, regular features from his mother.• Infants require regular health screening.• Draw a regular hexagon with 90 mm sides.• The prison is inspected at regular intervals by government health officers.• The Parent-Teacher Association has regular meetings every month.• In addition, the regular menu will be available for diners who have yet to be struck by Cupid's arrow.• Another boy is in a regular private foster home.• What's the regular procedure for filing a complaint?• Even though the dye is quite strong a regular shampoo will remove it.• From a Piagetian constructivist perspective, critical thinking is not fundamentally different from regular thinking.• At Shell stations, regular unleaded is about $ 1. 43 up from $ 1. 39.at regular intervals• Better to feed small amounts at regular intervals.• If using a cone, spray again at regular intervals.• Now for the decorations ... Push the gold candles into the icing at regular intervals.• The fog-horn, its sound now muffled by the houses, continued to bleat at regular intervals.• He may be required to report to a particular individual or place at regular intervals as part of a monitoring process.• He made long sweeps at regular intervals in and around the Teeth, but there was nothing.• They would have to field candidates for a variety of offices at regular intervals or risk being closed.• By practicing at regular intervals, the insight and calm of meditation are maintained and amplified.regular customer/visitor• During the summer months our casual trade has been fairly steady and a number of these casuals are now regular customers.• The performers are a Czech band called Czecho-Mor ... and they've become regular visitors.• One of the bungalows, which once boasted Walter Annenberg as a regular visitor, even comes with its own lap pool.• Intelmet says that to make the service pay it will require just 10 regular customers every month.• The people who drink at these places are more than regular customers they are members.• Mrs Jackie Bowshell organised the event and cars were brought in by regular customers to a strict timetable.• Another retired military gentleman, a colonel, was a regular visitor to Scourie. at regular intervals• Better to feed small amounts at regular intervals.• If using a cone, spray again at regular intervals.• Now for the decorations ... Push the gold candles into the icing at regular intervals.• The fog-horn, its sound now muffled by the houses, continued to bleat at regular intervals.• He may be required to report to a particular individual or place at regular intervals as part of a monitoring process.• He made long sweeps at regular intervals in and around the Teeth, but there was nothing.• They would have to field candidates for a variety of offices at regular intervals or risk being closed.• By practicing at regular intervals, the insight and calm of meditation are maintained and amplified.regular features• He was a small man, with very soft, startling black hair and small regular features.• It will be full of regular features!• These fine, regular features do not come from me.• She brushed fiercely, supporting the fall, and considered her perfectly regular features in the mirror.• His regular features would have been handsome if they had not all been slightly too large.regularregular2 noun 1 [countable] informalBBT someone who often goes to the same bar, restaurant etc or who takes part in an activity very often The barman knows all the regulars by name.2 [countable]PMA a soldier whose permanent job is in the army3 [uncountable] American EnglishTTC petrol that contains leadExamples from the Corpus
regular• Joe became a regular on the circuit of social Washington.• But regulars are right behind the pink pub.• Julie Riley and Paula Wilcox are excellent as the hard-bitten contestant regulars.• The chances of recruiting enough regulars seemed slender in the conditions of overfull employment prevailing in Britain in the 1950s.• He and the rest of the Grill regulars would gladly grub the stumps out of the town lot with their own hands.• Early morning regulars were surprised to find the coffee shop closed.• He never played in the same pub twice in the same month; even so, word got around among the regulars.• The regulars show up later, after supper.From Longman Business Dictionaryregularreg‧u‧lar1 /ˈregjələ-ər/ adjective1happening at the same time each day, month, year etc, usually quite oftenAt least the job guarantees you a regular income.Payments should be madeat regular intervals, preferably weekly.Make sure you back up the data on a regular basis.2[only before a noun] especially American English of a normal or standard size or amountWe offer three sizes: small, regular and large.Save 30% off the regular price.3regular customer/client a customer who always goes to the same shop or uses the same serviceA discount is available to our regular customers.4regular staff/employeesHUMAN RESOURCES people who work for a company for the whole of the working day or week, not for just some of the timeunion fears that casual workers were replacing regular staffregularregular2 noun [countable] British English informal a customer who goes to the same shop etc very oftenShe’s one of our regulars.Origin regular1 (1300-1400) Old French reguler, from Latin regularis, from regula “edge for drawing straight lines, rule”, from regere; → REGENT 