method

noun

Simple meaning

A process by which a task is completed.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

mehthuhd

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈmɛθəd

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

countable
A process by which a task is completed; a way of doing something (followed by the adposition of, to or for before the purpose of the process).
uncountable
Systematicity, methodicalness, intentionality, order
object-oriented programming
A subroutine or function belonging to a class or object.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency: Very Common
Typical Use: General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A process by which a task is completed; a way of doing something (followed by the adposition of, to or for before the purpose of the process).

Used this way, method is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: Matter-of-fact
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use method

“If one method doesn't work, you should ask a friend to help you.”noun

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

new methodbest methodsecond methodeffective methodfirst methodsimple methodcommon method

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

methodologynounScientific field · specialist
The branch of philosophy that analyzes the principles and procedures of inquiry in a particular discipline.
methodistadjectiveDerived adjective
Of or pertaining to or characteristic of the branch of Protestantism adhering to the views of Wesley.
methodologicaladjectiveDerived adjective
Related to the branch of philosophy that analyzes the principles and procedures of inquiry in a particular discipline.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

method of accountingnounCompound term
A bookkeeper's chronological list of related debits and credits of a business.
method actingnounCompound term
An acting technique introduced by Stanislavsky in which the actor recalls emotions or reactions from his or her own life and uses them to identify with the character being portrayed.
method of choicenounCompound term
The best method to achieve a desired result.
method of fluxionsnounCompound term
The part of calculus that deals with the variation of a function with respect to changes in the independent variable (or variables) by means of the concepts of derivative and differential.
method of least squaresnounCompound term
A method of fitting a curve to data points so as to minimize the sum of the squares of the distances of the points from the curve.
experimental methodnounCompound term
The use of controlled observations and measurements to test hypotheses.

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “method” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.