Definition of "routine" []

• A prescribed, detailed course of action to be followed regularly; a standard procedure. (noun)
• A set of customary and often mechanically performed procedures or activities. See Synonyms at method. (noun)
• A set piece of entertainment, especially in a nightclub or theater: The audience laughed at the comedian's routine. (noun)
• Slang A particular kind of behavior or activity: Must you go into your hurt routine when you don't get your way? (noun)
• Computer Science A set of programming instructions designed to perform a specific limited task. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The word routine can be a bad word in many offices."
• "But part of my routine is a daily writing practice in a journal."
• "The Turkish foreign ministry said the government allowed the Iranian plane to continue to its destination Wednesday after what it described as a routine inspection of its cargo lasting several hours."