Routine Meaning
/ɹuːˈtiːn/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA course of action to be followed regularly; a standard procedure.
nounA set of normal procedures, often performed mechanically.
Sentence Examples
We're doing the same old routine: going bar hopping and then to karaoke.
My wife is getting tired of the daily routine.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The nurse performed her morning ____ of taking temperatures and giving medicines.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The surgeon followed her usual ____ before every operation to minimize the risk of errors.
Word Origin & History
Unadapted borrowing from French routine. By surface analysis, route + -ine. Further from Latin rupta via. Compare typologically travel << Latin tripālium, whence also travail, note the inverse semantic vector from a subjective state (toil) to an objective action (journey). Also compare Czech běžný (< běžet), Russian обихо́д (obixód), обихо́дный (obixódnyj) (akin to ходи́ть (xodítʹ)).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"It is never possible to settle down to the ordinary routine of life at sea until the screw begins to revolve. There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy."
— 1915, G[eorge] A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter I, in Gossamer, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company, →OCLC:
""Morning, inspector," affably remarked the cripple—he had not failed to observe the badge—"rather early for your job, eh? Nothing wrong with our supply up here, I hope, eh?"
"Nothing at all, sir," said the inspector. "Just an ordinary routine round. We do them regularly.""
— 1934, Ernest Bramah, The Bravo of London:
"Pepper's forgiven me in the quiet, hurt way women sometimes forgive. She doesn't cry. She doesn't smile either. She's being routine."
— 1993, Tristan Hawkins, Pepper, London: Flamingo, →ISBN, page 108:
"Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine.[…]One thing that is true, though, is that murder rates have fallen over the centuries, as policing has spread and the routine carrying of weapons has diminished. Modern society may not have done anything about war. But peace is a lot more peaceful."
— 2013 July 20, “Old soldiers?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
"Stoke put themselves in a fine position to qualify for the Europa League knockout stage with a routine victory over Maccabi Tel-Aviv in Israel."
— 2011 November 3, David Ornstein, “Macc Tel-Aviv 1-2 Stoke”, in BBC Sport:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The nurse performed her morning ____ of taking temperatures and giving medicines.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The surgeon followed her usual ____ before every operation to minimize the risk of errors.