modus operandi

\mɔ.du.s‿ɔ.pe.ʁɑ̃.di\

/\mɔ.du.s‿ɔ.pe.ʁɑ̃.di\/ noun

The verdict

“modus operandi” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Façon de faire une chose, manière d’opérer.

Corpus desk

Index FR-modus-operandi · modus operandi · French

modus operandi · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "M" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for modus operandi
PropertyValue
Headwordmodus operandi
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\mɔ.du.s‿ɔ.pe.ʁɑ̃.di\
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « modus operandi » en français

modus operandisiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

modus operandi is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \mɔ.du.s‿ɔ.pe.ʁɑ̃.di\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Façon de faire une chose, manière d’opérer.".

No misspelling variants are generated for modus operandi in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is modus operandi, spelled M-O-D-U-S- -O-P-E-R-A-N-D-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    Façon de faire une chose, manière d’opérer.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how modus operandi appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. « […] Jusqu’ici tout est clair autour de moi ; — il n’y a pas de nuages derrière lesquels puisse se cacher le secret, le grand secret du modus operandi de la gravitation ; — mais ce secret est quelque part aux environs, très-certainement, et n’y eût-il qu’un seul nuage en vue, je serais tenu de soupçonner ce nuage. »
  2. Le Royaume-Uni accuse la Russie d’avoir commandité cette tentative d’assassinat, dont le modus operandi porte la signature de Moscou.

Synonyms

façon de fairemanière de fairemode d’emploimode opératoire

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "modus operandi"?
"modus operandi" is spelled M-O-D-U-S- -O-P-E-R-A-N-D-I. The IPA pronunciation is \mɔ.du.s‿ɔ.pe.ʁɑ̃.di\.
What does "modus operandi" mean?
As a noun, "modus operandi" means: Façon de faire une chose, manière d’opérer.
How do you pronounce "modus operandi"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "modus operandi" is \mɔ.du.s‿ɔ.pe.ʁɑ̃.di\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "modus operandi" come from?
"modus operandi" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list