mode

noun18

1. •
   a way of doing something, chosen from several that are possible

   • What was the mode of entry?
2. •
   A particular means of transportation as a class.
3. •
   A particular state of being, or frame of mind.

   • After a series of early setbacks, her political campaign is in crisis mode.
   • After being stabbed, he went into survival mode until he got to the hospital.
4. •
   One of various related sets of rules for processing data; more generally, any state of the system associated with certain behaviours.

   • In insert mode, characters typed are directly inserted into the buffer.
5. •
   A series of settings on a device used for a specific purpose.

   • The car was then placed into its Level 2 driving mode, much like you would for the current adaptive cruise control systems. — 2024
6. •
   A variation in gameplay, such as a difficulty level.

   • Selfie modes, meanwhile, let you add filters and change characters’ facial expressions, from Link in The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker to Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption 2. — 2019
7. •
   The most frequently occurring value in a distribution.
8. •
   One of several common scales in modern Western music, one of which corresponds to the modern major scale and one to the natural minor scale.
9. •
   One of several ancient Greek scales.
10. •
    Style or fashion; popular trend.

    • Her wardrobe is always in mode.
11. •
    A verb form that depends on how its containing clause relates to the speaker’s or writer’s wish, intent, or assertion about reality.
12. •
    A state of a system that is represented by an eigenfunction of that system.
13. •
    A state related to signals or vibrations.
14. •
    A wave pattern in the electromagnetic field.
15. •
    That which exists only as a quality of substance.
16. •
    In lace-making, a small decorative piece inserted into a pattern.
17. •
    The openwork between the solid parts of a pattern.
18. •
    (no longer used) A woman's mantle with a hood.