mod·el

(mŏd′l)

1. A small object, usually built to scale, that represents in detail another, often larger object.

a. A preliminary work or construction that serves as a plan from which a final product is to be made: a clay model ready for casting.

b. Such a work or construction used in testing or perfecting a final product: a test model of a solar-powered vehicle.

3. A schematic description or representation of something, especially a system or phenomenon, that accounts for its properties and is used to study its characteristics: a model of generative grammar; a model of an atom; an economic model.

4. A style or design of an item: My car is last year's model.

5. One serving as an example to be imitated or compared: a model of decorum. See Synonyms at ideal.

a. One that serves as the subject for an artist, especially a person employed to pose for a painter, sculptor, or photographer.

b. One that serves as the basis for a fictional character or place.

7. A person employed to display merchandise, such as clothing or cosmetics.

8. Zoology An animal whose appearance is copied by a mimic.

adj.

1. Being, serving as, or used as a model.

2. Worthy of imitation: a model child.

v. mod·eled, mod·el·ing, mod·els also mod·elled or mod·el·ling

v.tr.

1. To make or construct a descriptive or representational model of: computer programs that model climate change.

2. To plan, construct, or fashion in imitation of a model: modeled his legal career after that of his mentor.

a. To make by shaping a plastic substance: modeled a bust from clay.

b. To form (clay, for example) into a shape.

4. To display by wearing or posing in: model clothes.

5. In painting, drawing, and photography, to give a three-dimensional appearance to, as by shading or highlighting.

6. Psychology

a. To exhibit (a behavior) in such a way as to promote the establishment of similar patterns of behavior in another: The therapist modeled socially appropriate conversation.

b. To repeat (a behavior observed in another): The child was modeling her mother's nurturing behavior.

v.intr.

1. To make a model.

2. To work or serve as a model, as in wearing clothes for display or serving as the subject of an artist.

Phrasal Verb:

model (oneself) on (or after)

To copy the example of (another); imitate.

[French modèle, from Italian modello, diminutive of modo, form, from Latin modus, measure, standard; see med- in Indo-European roots.]

mod′el·er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.

modeled - resembling sculpture; "her finely modeled features"; "rendered with...vivid sculptural effect"; "the sculpturesque beauty of the athletes' bodies"

sculpturesque, sculptural, sculptured

shapely - having a well-proportioned and pleasing shape; "a slim waist and shapely legs"

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

They actually try to encore one of her characters -- an old north-country lady; modeled on that honored preceptress in the late Mr.

View in context

To avoid conflicts of interest, the validator should be objective; knowledgeable about the product being modeled, modeling standards of practice, industry practices and regulatory requirements; and not have an interest in the outcome of the validation.

Building model trust: strong model risk management can prevent the damaging impact that model misuse or errors have on insurers

Their levels of formal architecture education and training usually vary, and their domain knowledge of the area being modeled is usually low.

Heuristics for joint architecting

Identifying the key proximal determinants of health and how they can be modeled to project risks and vulnerabilities.

Summary of a workshop on the development of health models and scenarios: strategies for the future

We modeled the potential effect of vaccines in developing countries with a high incidence and prevalence of infection.

Potential public health impact of new tuberculosis vaccines

When a thicker section of the same part is being modeled, the software can transition automatically into larger, volume-based voxel or tetrahedral elements," says Carobus.

The new dimension in mold simulation

Early on, the architectural development team saw the need to link their model to the larger Enterprise Architecture of NOAA--also being developed and modeled using the Metis software.

NOAA maps the future of sensors that gather data from the 'bottom of the ocean to the sun'