model Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a hypothetical description of a complex entity or process
    framework; theoretical account.
    • the computer program was based on a model of the circulatory and respiratory systems
  2. noun a type of product
    • his car was an old model
  3. noun a person who poses for a photographer or painter or sculptor
    poser.
    • the president didn't have time to be a model so the artist worked from photos
  4. noun representation of something (sometimes on a smaller scale)
    simulation.
  5. noun something to be imitated
    good example; exemplar; example.
    • an exemplar of success
    • a model of clarity
    • he is the very model of a modern major general
  6. noun someone worthy of imitation
    role model.
    • every child needs a role model
  7. noun a representative form or pattern
    example.
    • I profited from his example
  8. noun a woman who wears clothes to display fashions
    mannequin; manakin; fashion model; manikin; mannikin.
    • she was too fat to be a mannequin
  9. noun the act of representing something (usually on a smaller scale)
    modeling; modelling.
  10. verb plan or create according to a model or models
    pattern.
  11. verb form in clay, wax, etc
    mould; mold.
    • model a head with clay
  12. verb assume a posture as for artistic purposes
    posture; pose; sit.
    • We don't know the woman who posed for Leonardo so often
  13. verb display (clothes) as a mannequin
    • model the latest fashion
  14. verb create a representation or model of
    simulate.
    • The pilots are trained in conditions simulating high-altitude flights
  15. verb construct a model of
    mock up.
    • model an airplane
  16. adjective satellite worthy of imitation
    exemplary.
    • exemplary behavior
    • model citizens

WordNet

Mod"el noun
Etymology
F. modèle, It. modello, fr. (assumed) L. modellus, fr. modulus a small measure, dim. of modus. See Mode, and cf. Module.
Definitions
  1. A miniature representation of a thing, with the several parts in due proportion; sometimes, a facsimile of the same size.
    In charts, in maps, and eke in models made. Gascoigne.
    I had my father's signet in my purse, Which was the model of that Danish seal. Shak.
    You have the models of several ancient temples, though the temples and the gods are perished. Addison.
  2. Something intended to serve, or that may serve, as a pattern of something to be made; a material representation or embodiment of an ideal; sometimes, a drawing; a plan; as, the clay model of a sculpture; the inventor's model of a machine.
    [The application for a patent] must be accompanied by a full description of the invention, with drawings and a model where the case admits of it. Am. Cyc.
    When we mean to build We first survey the plot, then draw the model. Shak.
  3. Anything which serves, or may serve, as an example for imitation; as, a government formed on the model of the American constitution; a model of eloquence, virtue, or behavior.
  4. That by which a thing is to be measured; standard.
    He that despairs measures Providence by his own little, contracted model. South.
  5. Any copy, or resemblance, more or less exact.
    Thou seest thy wretched brother die, Who was the model of thy father's life. Shak.
  6. A person who poses as a pattern to an artist.
    A professional model. H. James.
Mod"el adjective
Definitions
  1. Suitable to be taken as a model or pattern; as, a model house; a model husband.
Mod"el transitive verb
Etymology
Cf. F. modeler, It. modellare.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Modeled or Modelled; present participle & verbal noun Modeling or Modelling
Definitions
  1. To plan or form after a pattern; to form in model; to form a model or pattern for; to shape; to mold; to fashion; as, to model a house or a government; to model an edifice according to the plan delineated.
Mod"el intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. (Fine Arts) To make a copy or a pattern; to design or imitate forms; as, to model in wax.

Webster 1913