Word.ws English Dictionary

methods

Syllables: meth·ods/ˈmɛθədz/

methods is the plural of method.

methods is the third-person singular simple present indicative of method.

Meaning of method

Noun

method (countable and uncountable, plural methods)

  1. (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).
    • If one method doesn't work, you should ask a friend to help you.
  2. (uncountable) Systematicity, methodicalness, intentionality, order.
    • Though this be madneſſe, / Yet there is Method in 't: […]c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
  3. (often “the method”) A technique for acting based on the ideas articulated by Konstantin Stanislavski and focusing on authentically experiencing the inner life of the character being portrayed.
    • In this case, the application of the famous method was a little shaky. To be fair, the director was dealing with a pretty stroppy cast.1989, Kenneth Branagh, Beginning, London: Chatto & Windus, →ISBN, page 64
    Synonyms:
    method acting
  4. (object-oriented programming) A subroutine or function belonging to a class or object.
    • When you call the method, you provide values corresponding to these variables in your method call.2006, David A. Black, David Heinemeier Hansson, Ruby for Rails: Ruby Techniques for Rails Developers, Manning, →ISBN, page 101
    Synonyms:
    member function
  5. (slang) Marijuana.
  6. (dated) An instruction book systematically arranged.

See all 8 meanings of method

Phrases with methods

22 more phrasesFewer phrases

Questions about methods

What is methods the plural of?
Methods is the plural of method.
How do you pronounce methods?
Methods is pronounced /ˈmɛθədz/.

Words near methods in the dictionary

  1. methodologically
  2. methodologies
  3. methodologist
  4. methodologists
  5. methodology
  6. methods
  7. methods engineering
  8. methods in the madness
  9. methods to one's madness
  10. Methods-Time Measurement
  11. Methody

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: methods (page history and authors); method (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-methods.ogg.

Cite this entry: “methods.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/methods. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.