modus operandi

noun

mo·dus ope·ran·di | \ ˌmō-dəs-ˌä-pə-ˈran-dē

, -ˌdī\

plural modi operandi\ ˈmō-ˌdē-

, ˈmō-ˌdī- \

Definition of modus operandi

: a method of procedure the best approach … was to do things through quiet persuasion, which was his modus operandi— James Traub especially : a distinct pattern or method of operation that indicates or suggests the work of a single criminal in more than one crime got her picture identified, discovered her modus operandi, and put a stakeout on her neighborhood — Time

Examples of modus operandi in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

By Connie Bruck Profiles Donald Trump’s modus operandi has a sharp focus: never budge from the premise that the universe revolves around you, and, above all, stay in character. — Evan Lian, The New Yorker, "Eternal Damnations for the Twenty-first Century," 25 May 2018 The Broncos’ ideal modus operandi offensively is run to set up the play-action pass. — Ryan O'halloran, The Denver Post, "Lessons learned: Broncos’ Courtland Sutton intends to apply rookie year experience to become elite in 2019," 21 July 2019 Prosecutors believe the shooters were Lising-Campos and Watts, and say the shootings were consistent with the Manor Boyz gang’s modus operandi, which a police gang expert testified has gotten more violent in recent years. — Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, "Defendant gets 16 years in Richmond murder case centered on new state laws," 20 June 2019 Such was the late photographer Slim Aaron's modus operandi. — Fiorella Valdesolo, Town & Country, "Slim Aarons and Napoleon Perdis Collection," 8 July 2014 The comments in question were never reported to the moderators as breaking the rules by other users and the Reddit admins did not reach out to us before this action as is the usual modus operandi. — Tara Law, Time, "Reddit Places a 'Quarantine' on The_Donald, Its Largest Community of Trump Supporters," 28 June 2019 The modus operandi was identical _ a prowler, shoelace ligatures, voyeurism, ransacking and rapes as in the East Area Rapist cases. — Tribune News Service, oregonlive.com, "The Man in the Window: Closing in on DeAngelo (Part Four)," 23 June 2019 That is entirely consistent with a motivation to incite divisions and dissent in the body politic of free Western nations, which is Russia’s modus operandi. — Andrew C. Mccarthy, National Review, "The Lessons of the Mueller Probe," 12 June 2019 Engagement is the modus operandi of Harness, the nonprofit Ferrera and Williams founded in 2016. — Rob Haskell, Vogue, "How America Ferrera Is Inspiring Celebrities to Get Political," 11 Feb. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'modus operandi.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.