INDEX:
1. when you do something regularly, or something happens regularly
2. not regularly
3. with equal spaces in between
RELATED WORDS
have a regular shape : ↑ SHAPE (5)
: ↑ USUALLY , ↑ SOMETIMES , ↑ OFTEN
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1. when you do something regularly, or something happens regularly
▷ regularly /ˈregjɑləʳli/ [adverb]
if you do something regularly, you do it on many different occasions, usually with the same amount of time in between :
▪ I’ve been going jogging regularly for a couple of years now.
▪ Both my sons phone me regularly, usually once a week.
▪ Company reports are published regularly and sent out to all shareholders.
▷ regular /ˈregjɑləʳ/ [adjective usually before noun]
a regular event or activity happens every hour, every week, every month etc, usually with the same amount of time in between :
▪ Do you do any regular exercise?
▪ It’s important to visit your dentist for regular check-ups.
▪ The Parent-Teacher Association has regular meetings every month.
on a regular basis
regularly
▪ More than 60% of adults drink wine on a regular basis.
at regular intervals
with equal amounts of time between
▪ The prison is inspected at regular intervals by government health officers.
a regular feature (of something)
a regular event that has become an important part of something
▪ The exhibitions by young artists formed a regular feature of the London arts scene.
▷ every day/every week/every year etc /ˌevri ˈdeɪ/ [adverb]
▪ She cycles to work every day.
▪ Every Sunday we go to my mother’s for lunch.
▪ The series has been on TV every week for forty years.
▷ hourly/daily/weekly/monthly etc /ˈaʊəʳli, ˈdeɪli, ˈwiːkli, ˈmʌnθli/ [adjective usually before noun]
happening or done every hour, every day etc :
▪ There are daily flights to Frankfurt.
▪ a weekly current affairs programme
▪ a monthly magazine
hourly/daily etc /ˈaʊəʳli, ˈdeɪli/ [adverb]
▪ The news is broadcast hourly on Network Five.
▪ Do you get paid monthly or weekly?
▷ every other day/week/year etc /ˌevri ʌðəʳ ˈdeɪ/ [adverb]
happening one day, week etc, but not the next and continuing in this way :
▪ Every other Thursday there’s a farmers’ market in the town.
▪ How often do you go shopping? Oh, every other day.
▷ alternate days/weeks/years etc /ɔːlˌtɜːnɪt ˈdeɪz, ɔːlˌtɜːnət ˈdeɪzǁˌɔːltərnə̇t-/ [adjective phrase] especially British
happening one day, week etc, but not the next and continuing in this way. Alternate days etc is more formal than every other day etc :
▪ I have to work a 37 hour week, including alternate weekends.
▪ Indoor bowls nights are held at the hall on alternate Tuesdays at 7.30.
2. not regularly
▷ every now and then/every so often /ˌevri naʊ ə n ˈðen, ˌevri səʊ ˈɒf ə nǁ-ˈɔːf-/ [adverb]
sometimes, but not very often and not regularly :
▪ I only smoke every now and then, at a party or when we go out to eat.
▪ Every so often the silence was broken by the sound of gunfire.
▷ on and off/off and on /ˌɒn ənd ˈɒf, ˌɒf ənd ˈɒn/ [adverb]
if you do something on and off or off and on during a long period, you do it for short periods but not regularly :
▪ I’ve been trying to learn Spanish on and off for the past five years.
▪ ‘Are you still going out with Bill?’ ‘Off and on.’
▷ by/in fits and starts /baɪ, ɪn ˌfɪts ənd ˈstɑːʳts/ [adverb]
repeatedly starting and stopping, but not regularly and never for more than a short time :
▪ Unfortunately our research has only continued in fits and starts.
advance/grow/progress etc in fits and starts
▪ The disease progressed in fits and starts for at least two decades.
▪ American military technology has advanced by fits and starts.
▷ intermittent /ˌɪntəʳˈmɪt ə nt◂/ [adjective]
happening repeatedly but not continuously :
▪ There will be intermittent thunderstorms throughout the day.
▪ After two days of intermittent fighting, order was finally restored.
intermittently [adverb]
▪ I slept intermittently through the night.
▷ sporadic /spəˈrædɪk/ [adjective]
happening repeatedly over a fairly long time but not regularly and only for short periods within that time :
▪ Our advertising campaigns have been too sporadic to have had a lot of success.
▪ Since then he has been on sporadic drinking binges.
sporadic fighting/violence/shots/outbreaks etc
▪ There was rioting and sporadic fighting in the city as rival gangs clashed.
▪ sporadic outbreaks of disease
▷ in waves /ɪn ˈweɪvz/ [adverb]
if something happens in waves, a short period of activity is followed by a pause, and then there is another short period of activity and another pause, and it continues in this way :
▪ The recruitment of new staff has been proceeding in waves.
▪ Pain and nausea swept over him in waves.
3. with equal spaces in between
▷ at regular intervals /ət ˌregjɑlər ˈɪntəʳv ə lz/ [adverb]
if things are arranged at regular intervals, they are arranged, usually in a line, with equal distances between them :
▪ There are stations where runners can get water at regular intervals throughout the marathon.
▪ Small trees can be planted at regular intervals along a path to create an avenue.
▷ every metre/mile/10 kilometres etc /ˌevri ˈmiːtəʳ/ [adverb]
at regular points that are a metre, mile etc apart along a line, road etc :
▪ It was so steep that we had to stop and rest about every twenty metres.
▪ There are coastguard stations every ten miles along the coast.
▷ evenly spaced /ˌiːv ə nli ˈspeɪst◂/ [adjective phrase]
arranged with regular spaces :
▪ Our tents are evenly spaced over a large area to give you maximum privacy.
▪ The word processor will arrange your text in evenly spaced columns.