1
: a usually miniature representation of something
a plastic model of the human heart
also
: a pattern of something to be made
2
a
: a type or design of product (such as a car)
offers eight new models for next year, including a completely restyled convertible
b
: a type or design of clothing
girls, self-conscious in their Paris models—
Paul Bowles
Paul Bowles3
: a system of postulates, data, and inferences presented as a mathematical description of an entity or state of affairs
4
5
: an example for imitation or emulation
his written addresses are models of clearness, logical order, and style—A. B. Noble
A. B. Noble6
: one who is employed to display clothes or other merchandise
has appeared as a model in ads for swimsuits
7
: a person or thing that serves as a pattern for an artist
especially
: one who poses for an artist
His wife served as the model for many of his paintings.
8
: version sense 2
an experimental model of a bionic arm
9
: a description or analogy used to help visualize something (such as an atom) that cannot be directly observed
10
: structural design
a home on the model of an old farmhouse
11
: an organism whose appearance a mimic imitates
12
14
obsolete
: a set of plans for a building
modeled or modelled; modeling or modelling
ˈmäd-liŋ,
ˈmä-dᵊl-iŋ
1
: to construct or fashion in imitation of a particular model
modeled its constitution on that of the U.S.
2
a
: to shape or fashion in a plastic material
modeling figures from clay
b
: to produce a representation or simulation (see simulation sense 3a) of
using a computer to model a problem
3
: to display by wearing, using, or posing with
modeled gowns
4
: to plan or form after a pattern : shape
legislative institutions primarily modeled on the English pattern
5
archaic
: to make into an organization (such as an army, government, or parish)
1
: to work or act as a fashion or art model
Each contestant modeled in front of the judges.
2
: to design or imitate forms : make a pattern
The students are modeling in clay.
1
: serving as or capable of serving as a pattern
a model student
2
: being a usually miniature representation of something
a model airplane
Synonyms
Examples of model in a Sentence
Noun
She's building a model of the Earth for science class.
a plastic model of the human heart
We've improved on last year's model, making the car safer and easier to control.
He bought one of the old 1965 models.
We couldn't afford one of the fancy TVs and had to buy the standard model.
We've developed a computer model of the economy to predict what will happen in the future.
Companies are developing new business models.
Verb
The faces of the gods were modeled in white stone.
They're modeling this year's new spring fashions.
She got a job modeling shoes for a catalog company.
a fashion model who has angered animal lovers by modeling fur coats
Adjective
Our university has a model program for training its athletes.
why can't you be like your sister, who is such a well-behaved model child?
Recent Examples on the WebClara Hernanz Lizarraga, Fortune Europe, 12 Apr. 2024
The following Ford models are affected in the recent recall:
22,270 Bronco Sport vehicles from 2022 and 2023
20,382 Escape vehicles from 2022
All the recalled SUVs have 1.5-liter engines, NTHSA said.
—USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
Likewise, the documentary also sheds light on the human cost of fast fashion by looking to the landfills in Ghana, where textile waste from the west is polluting its bodies of water, something that's increased rapidly since fast fashion became the dominant clothing model.
—Cady Lang, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
That exact model went for $12.2 million at auction back in 2009.
—Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 12 Apr. 2024
Advertisement Less heralded at the time were the models that Troubetzkoy used for the soldier and the newsboy.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Weinberg says that while the company’s main focus is providing free and easy-to-use privacy tools to people, running a VPN and the removal tool requires a different business model.
—Matt Burgess, WIRED, 11 Apr. 2024
But the musicians followed the Grateful Dead’s grass-roots model by creating their own company, Dionysian Productions, to handle tours and merch.
—Geoff Edgers, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024
And in their dealings with Bahlul, the young Moroccan model played by Qaher Harhash, none of the Brooklynites seem to know where — or even what — Morocco is.
—Louis Lucero Ii, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2024
Despite the fact that Nike presented multiple options (including a pair of shorts modeled by Richardson at the Palais Brongniart event), one uniform stood out: the shorts were so high-cut that runners and fans alike worried about the athletes preserving their modesty.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 12 Apr. 2024
The Ratio 6, for example, models its showerhead after the way water is distributed in the pour-over process.
—Noah Kaufman, Bon Appétit, 12 Apr. 2024
Stephanie McMahon has been associated with WWE throughout her life, going back to modeling merchandise as a teenager.
—Michaela Zee, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024
Nevertheless, drawing on an authoritarian development approach modelled on South Korea and Taiwan, the EPRDF shook off Ethiopia’s reputation as a land of hunger and conflict.
—Alex De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 8 Apr. 2024
End of carousel When this happens, however, mature people (of all varieties) recognize their mistakes, leash their egos and initiate reconciliation themselves, modeling for children (of all varieties) how it’s done.
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2024
Some feel that this sort of wishful casting can help model how a multiethnic society should function.
—Kabir Chibber, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2024
Library officials said the program, modeled on a similar effort in Seattle, is an important step toward eliminating barriers to library use by young people, especially those in foster care or in low-income families.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Mar. 2024
Brittani Samuel, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024
In that decade the Beehive State earned a reputation as a model red state for uniting religious, business, and immigrant advocacy groups, says Dr. Hofmann.
—Sarah Matusek, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Mar. 2024
The researchers fed their model individual video frames and a transcript of things people said at that time.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Feb. 2024
Nguyen explained that the creation of the school designation in 2007 was the result of work from activists and scholars, who sought to address the fallacy of the model minority myth.
—Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 27 Sep. 2023
Built on the remains of an 18th-century garrison, about 30 miles northwest of Prague, it was advertised as a model Jewish community—a cruel and cynical feat of Nazi planning.
—Douglas Starr, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Aug. 2023
There is, alas, little reason other than wishful thinking to expect that other nations will evolve along Whiggish lines into model Western-style democracies.
—Max Boot, Foreign Affairs, 10 Mar. 2023
His low-maintenance mentality and consistent approach helped the Spurs be the model NBA franchise for almost 20 years.
—Andrew Birkle, Detroit Free Press, 16 May 2023
The firm has also previously sued the state education department because its model ethnic studies curriculum contained an affirmation that the firm claimed constituted an Aztec prayer.
—Kristen Taketa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Apr. 2023
Noun
Some experts doubt fashion brands will be able to hit their climate targets unless the business model changes drastically.
—Clara Hernanz Lizarraga, Fortune Europe, 12 Apr. 2024
The following Ford models are affected in the recent recall:
22,270 Bronco Sport vehicles from 2022 and 2023
20,382 Escape vehicles from 2022
All the recalled SUVs have 1.5-liter engines, NTHSA said.
—USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
Likewise, the documentary also sheds light on the human cost of fast fashion by looking to the landfills in Ghana, where textile waste from the west is polluting its bodies of water, something that's increased rapidly since fast fashion became the dominant clothing model.
—Cady Lang, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
That exact model went for $12.2 million at auction back in 2009.
—Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 12 Apr. 2024
Advertisement Less heralded at the time were the models that Troubetzkoy used for the soldier and the newsboy.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Weinberg says that while the company’s main focus is providing free and easy-to-use privacy tools to people, running a VPN and the removal tool requires a different business model.
—Matt Burgess, WIRED, 11 Apr. 2024
But the musicians followed the Grateful Dead’s grass-roots model by creating their own company, Dionysian Productions, to handle tours and merch.
—Geoff Edgers, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024
And in their dealings with Bahlul, the young Moroccan model played by Qaher Harhash, none of the Brooklynites seem to know where — or even what — Morocco is.
—Louis Lucero Ii, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Verb
In December 2023, the actor modeled another outfit from the knitwear brand in an Instagram Stories snap.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2024
Despite the fact that Nike presented multiple options (including a pair of shorts modeled by Richardson at the Palais Brongniart event), one uniform stood out: the shorts were so high-cut that runners and fans alike worried about the athletes preserving their modesty.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 12 Apr. 2024
The Ratio 6, for example, models its showerhead after the way water is distributed in the pour-over process.
—Noah Kaufman, Bon Appétit, 12 Apr. 2024
Stephanie McMahon has been associated with WWE throughout her life, going back to modeling merchandise as a teenager.
—Michaela Zee, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024
Nevertheless, drawing on an authoritarian development approach modelled on South Korea and Taiwan, the EPRDF shook off Ethiopia’s reputation as a land of hunger and conflict.
—Alex De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 8 Apr. 2024
End of carousel When this happens, however, mature people (of all varieties) recognize their mistakes, leash their egos and initiate reconciliation themselves, modeling for children (of all varieties) how it’s done.
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2024
Some feel that this sort of wishful casting can help model how a multiethnic society should function.
—Kabir Chibber, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2024
Library officials said the program, modeled on a similar effort in Seattle, is an important step toward eliminating barriers to library use by young people, especially those in foster care or in low-income families.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Mar. 2024
Adjective
What was once a holy ground shepherded by a rapturous man simply known as Pastor (Steven Pasquale), model evangelical teen Dawn O’Keefe (Alyse Alan Louis) and her angelic group of Promise Keeper Girls morphs into a breeding ground for sin.
—Brittani Samuel, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024
In that decade the Beehive State earned a reputation as a model red state for uniting religious, business, and immigrant advocacy groups, says Dr. Hofmann.
—Sarah Matusek, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Mar. 2024
The researchers fed their model individual video frames and a transcript of things people said at that time.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Feb. 2024
Nguyen explained that the creation of the school designation in 2007 was the result of work from activists and scholars, who sought to address the fallacy of the model minority myth.
—Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 27 Sep. 2023
Built on the remains of an 18th-century garrison, about 30 miles northwest of Prague, it was advertised as a model Jewish community—a cruel and cynical feat of Nazi planning.
—Douglas Starr, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Aug. 2023
There is, alas, little reason other than wishful thinking to expect that other nations will evolve along Whiggish lines into model Western-style democracies.
—Max Boot, Foreign Affairs, 10 Mar. 2023
His low-maintenance mentality and consistent approach helped the Spurs be the model NBA franchise for almost 20 years.
—Andrew Birkle, Detroit Free Press, 16 May 2023
The firm has also previously sued the state education department because its model ethnic studies curriculum contained an affirmation that the firm claimed constituted an Aztec prayer.
—Kristen Taketa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Apr. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'model.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near model
Cite this Entry
“Model.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/model. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
model
1 of 3 noun
mod·el
ˈmäd-ᵊl
1
a
: a small but exact copy of something
a ship model
b
: a pattern or figure of something to be made
clay models for a statue
2
: a person who sets a good example
a model of politeness
3
a
: a person or thing that serves as an artist's pattern
especially
: a person who poses for an artist or photographer
b
: a person who wears in the presence of customers garments that are for sale or who poses for ads for merchandise (as clothes)
4
: type entry 1 sense 2b, kind
our car is a late model
5
a
: a description or construction used to help form a picture of something (as an atom) that cannot be seen directly
a model of a DNA molecule
b
: a computer simulation
climate models
model
3 of 3 adjective1
: serving as or worthy of being a pattern
a model student
2
: being a miniature copy of something
a model airplane
Medical Definition
model
1 of 2 noun
mod·el
ˈmäd-ᵊl
1
a
: a pattern of something to be made : a cast of a tooth or oral cavity
2
: something (as a similar object or a construct) used to help visualize or explore something else (as the living human body) that cannot be directly observed or experimented on see animal model
3
: a system of postulates, data, and inferences presented as a mathematical description of an entity or state of affairs
model
2 of 2 transitive verb
modeled or modelled; modeling or modelling
ˈmäd-liŋ, -ᵊl-iŋ
: to produce (as by computer) a representation or simulation of
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