modus operandi

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A person or thing's normal mode of operation.
  2. 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.

Pronunciation

/ˈməʊ.dʌs ɒp.əˌɹæn.daɪ/ /ˈmɐʉ.dɘs ɔp.ɘˌɹɛn.dɒe/ /ˈmɐʉ.dɘs ɔp.ɘˌɹɛn.di/ /ˈmoʊ.dəs ɑp.əɹˌæn.daɪ/ /ˈmoʊ.dəs ɑp.əɹˌæn.di/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-NaomiAmethyst-modus operandi.wav

Word forms

modus operandi modi operandi modus operandis

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin modus operandī, from modus (“manner, method”) and operandī (“of working”).

Synonyms

MO

Related words

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.