I. reg ‧ u ‧ lar 1 S2 W2 /ˈreɡjələ, ˈreɡjʊlə $ -ər/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ regular , ↑ regularity ≠ ↑ irregularity , ↑ regularization ; verb : ↑ regularize ; adverb : ↑ regularly ≠ ↑ irregularly ; adjective : ↑ regular ≠ ↑ irregular ]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: reguler , from Latin regularis , from regula 'edge for drawing straight lines, rule' , from regere ; ⇨ ↑ regent ]
1 . EVERY 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 . OFTEN [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] 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 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 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 technical 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 irregular
9 . EMPHASIZING [only before noun] British English informal used to emphasize what you think someone is like SYN real :
He’s a regular little dictator!
10 . regular army/troops/soldier a regular army etc is permanent, and exists whether there is a war or not
11 . be/keep regular informal
a) to get rid of waste from your ↑ bowel s often enough to be healthy
b) a woman who is regular has her ↑ menstrual period at the same time each month
II. regular 2 BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ regular , ↑ regularity ≠ ↑ irregularity , ↑ regularization ; verb : ↑ regularize ; adverb : ↑ regularly ≠ ↑ irregularly ; adjective : ↑ regular ≠ ↑ irregular ]
1 . [countable] informal 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] a soldier whose permanent job is in the army
3 . [uncountable] American English petrol that contains ↑ lead