modus operandi

See also: Modus Operandi

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin modus operandī, from modus (“manner, method”) and operandī (“of working”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈməʊ.dʌs ɒp.əˌɹæn.daɪ/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈmɐʉ.dɘs ɔp.ɘˌɹɛn.dɒe/, /ˈmɐʉ.dɘs ɔp.ɘˌɹɛn.di/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmoʊ.dəs ɑp.əɹˌæn.daɪ/, /ˈmoʊ.dəs ɑp.əɹˌæn.di/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

Noun

modus operandi (plural modi operandi or modus operandis)

1. (colloquial) A person or thing's normal mode of operation.
   • 2001, Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl, pages 92–93:

     Failing that, if contact was absolutely necessary, a series of thumb jabs to the nerve cluster at the base of the neck would be his chosen modus operandi—quiet as a whisper.

   • 2019 December 9, qntm, “Wild Light”, in There Is No Antimemetics Division‎^[1], →ISBN, archived from the original on 15 September 2026, page 191:

     Where is it? What does SCP-3125 look like? Its motivation, its origins, its modus operandi— how much of that can be known? Does it have to be known, to solve the problem? Does it matter how intelligent the intelligence is, once it's inside the box, once it's checkmated?

2. (law enforcement) A known criminal's established habits and mode of work when committing specific offences, especially fraud, matched with characteristics of an unsolved crime to narrow down (limit to a specific list) or profile suspects.

Usage notes

• Sometimes italicized to indicate the term's foreign origin.

Synonyms

• MO

Related terms

• modus procedendi

Translations

person or thing's method of operation

• Bulgarian: модус операнди m (modus operandi), начин на действие m (način na dejstvie)
• Finnish: toimintatapa (fi) (usually in the plural)
• French: modus operandi (fr)
• Georgian: ქმედების ხერხი (kmedebis xerxi)
• German: Modus Operandi (de) m
• Greek: μεθοδολογία δράσης f (methodología drásis), τρόπος δράσης m (trópos drásis)
• Hindi: कार्यप्रणाली f (kāryapraṇālī), कार्यविधि f (kāryavidhi), कार्यपद्धति f (kāryapaddhati), तरीक़ाकार (tarīqākār), तरीक़ा-ए-कार (tarīqā-e-kār), तरीक़-ए-कार (tarīq-e-kār)
• Italian: modus operandi
• Latin: modus operandi
• Polish: modus operandi (pl) m inan
• Portuguese: modus operandi (pt) m
• Spanish: modus operandi (es) m

habits from a criminal

• Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: (犯罪/作案手法的) 特徵 / (犯罪/作案手法的) 特征 (tèzhēng)

• Finnish: toimintatapa (fi) (usually in the plural)
• French: mode opératoire (fr) m, modus operandi (fr) m
• Georgian: დანაშაულებრივი ხერხი (današaulebrivi xerxi), დანაშაულებრივი ხერხი (današaulebrivi xerxi), დანაშაულებრივი მოქმედების მეთოდი (današaulebrivi mokmedebis metodi), დანაშაულებრივი მოქმედების ხერხი (današaulebrivi mokmedebis xerxi)
• German: Modus Operandi (de) m
• Hindi: अपराध कार्यप्रणाली (aprādh kāryapraṇālī), अपराधी कार्यप्रणाली (aprādhī kāryapraṇālī)
• Hungarian: modus operandi (hu)
• Polish: modus operandi (pl) m inan
• Portuguese: modus operandi (pt) m
• Tagalog: modus

Cebuano

Etymology

Derived from English modus operandi, borrowed from Latin modus operandī.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: mo‧dus‧o‧pe‧ran‧di

Noun

modus operandi

1. (law enforcement) a modus operandi
2. a person or thing's normal mode of operation

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:modus operandi.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɔ.dys ɔ.pe.ʁɑ̃(n).di/

Noun

modus operandi m (invariable)

1. (law enforcement) modus operandi

   Synonym: mode opératoire

   • 2021, Antoine Albertini, A Marseille, contre les règlements de compte, l’arme du renseignement opérationnel, lemonde.fr (29 Mars 2021);

     Avec à peine plus de 1 % de la population française, l’agglomération marseillaise a concentré, ces cinq dernières années, 20 % de ces assassinats, comptabilisés selon de stricts critères cumulatifs : une victime défavorablement connue des services de police, une présomption de mobile liée au banditisme, un modus operandi impliquant à la fois une pluralité d’auteurs, un armement lourd et une préméditation.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Further reading

• “modus operandi”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Indonesian

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin modus operandī, from modus (“manner, method”) and operandī (“of working”).

Noun

modus operandi (plural modus-modus operandi)

1. (law enforcement) modus operandi

   Synonym: modus kejahatan

Further reading

• “modus operandi”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin modus operandī (literally “method of working”).

Noun

modus operandi m (invariable)

1. modus operandi

Latin

Etymology

From modus (“manner, method”) and operandī (“of working”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈmɔ.dʊs ɔ.pɛˈran.dɪ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈmɔː.dus o.peˈran.di]

Noun

modus operandī m (genitive modī operandī); second declension

1. modus operandi

Related terms

• modus vivendi

Polish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin modus operandī.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɔ.dus ɔ.pɛˈran.di/
• Syllabification: mo‧dus o‧pe‧ran‧di

Noun

modus operandi m inan (indeclinable)

1. (literary) modus operandi (person or thing's method of operation)

Further reading

• “modus operandi”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[2] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “modus operandi”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[3] (in Polish)

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin modus operandī.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmɔ.duz o.peˈɾɐ̃.d͡ʒi/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmɔ.duz ɔ.pɨˈɾɐ̃.di/ [ˈmɔ.ðuz ɔ.pɨˈɾɐ̃.di]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmɔ.duz ɔ.pɨˈɾɐ̃.di/ [ˈmɔ.ðuz ɔ.pɨˈɾɐ̃.di]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmɔ.duz ɔ.pɨˈɾɐ̃.di/

Noun

modus operandi m (plural modus operandi or modi operandi)

1. modus operandi (method of operation)

Further reading

• “modus operandi”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin modus operandī (literally “manner or method of working”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌmodus opeˈɾandi/ [ˌmo.ð̞us o.peˈɾãn̪.d̪i]
• Syllabification: mo‧dus o‧pe‧ran‧di

Noun

modus operandi m (plural modus operandi)

1. modus operandi

Related terms

• modus vivendi

Further reading

• “modus operandi”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 24th edition, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 30 October 2026
• “modus operandi”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 22, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2001

Swedish

Noun

modus operandi n

1. (criminal or more general) modus operandi

References

• “modus operandi”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)