METHOD

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does method mean? 

• METHOD (noun)
  The noun METHOD has 2 senses:

1. a way of doing something, especially a systematic way; implies an orderly logical arrangement (usually in steps)

2. an acting technique introduced by Stanislavsky in which the actor recalls emotions or reactions from his or her own life and uses them to identify with the character being portrayed

  Familiarity information: METHOD used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• METHOD (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A way of doing something, especially a systematic way; implies an orderly logical arrangement (usually in steps)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("method" is a kind of...):

know-how (the (technical) knowledge and skill required to do something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "method"):

pedagogics; pedagogy; teaching method (the principles and methods of instruction)

method of choice (the best method to achieve a desired result)

methodology (the system of methods followed in a particular discipline)

mnemonics (a method or system for improving the memory)

solution (a method for solving a problem)

system; system of rules (a complex of methods or rules governing behavior)

technique (a practical method or art applied to some particular task)

technicolor (a trademarked method of making color motion pictures)

statistical method; statistical procedure (a method of analyzing or representing statistical data; a procedure for calculating a statistic)

wrinkle (a clever method of doing something (especially something new and different))

Derivation:

methodical (characterized by method and orderliness)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An acting technique introduced by Stanislavsky in which the actor recalls emotions or reactions from his or her own life and uses them to identify with the character being portrayed

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

method; method acting

Hypernyms ("method" is a kind of...):

acting; performing; playacting; playing (the performance of a part or role in a drama)

 Context examples 

A microscopy staining method that utilizes periodic acid, an oxoacid of iodine, Schiff reagent, the reaction product of fuchsine and sodium bisulfite, and Alcian blue, a water soluble copper phthalocyanine dye.

(Alcian Blue and Periodic Acid Schiff Staining Method, NCI Thesaurus)

A microscopy staining method that utilizes alcian blue, a cationic, water soluble copper-containing phthalocyanine dye to determine the presence of acid mucopolysaccharides and glycosaminoglycans.

(Alcian Blue Staining Method, NCI Thesaurus)

“You work your own method, and I shall work mine. I shall be busy this afternoon, and shall probably return to London by the evening train.”

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The team discovered the method by reversing a common technique, originally developed to enlarge images of brain tissue.

(Researchers Use Laser to Shrink Objects to Nanoscale, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

A cytochemical staining technique using the alpha-naphthyl esterase staining method or a nonspecific esterase staining method to identify and quantify monoblasts and monocytes and to detect esterase activity.

(Alpha Naphthyl Esterase Staining Method, NCI Thesaurus)

Then with swiftness, but with absolute method, Van Helsing performed the operation.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

An outcast himself from the pack of the part-grown dogs, his sanguinary methods and remarkable efficiency made the pack pay for its persecution of him.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

The system of methods followed in a particular discipline.

(Methodology, NCI Thesaurus)

A unit used for measuring substance concentration or/and activity as defined in the literature reference standard for the particular assay method.

(Assay Unit, NCI Thesaurus)

A method to determine the microbial susceptibility to two or more antibiotics.

(Antimicrobial Combination Testing Method, NCI Thesaurus)