Meaning & use
uniform
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
The same in all parts or at all times, without variation.
Grammar: Can come before a noun or after be: a uniform temperature; the color was uniform.
Patterns
- uniform in something
- uniform across something
The paint gave the wall a uniform color.
Bricks of uniform size make building easier.
Prices are not uniform across the country.
nouncountable or uncountable
A set of matching clothes worn by members of a group such as a school, team, or job.
Grammar: Countable for a set: a new uniform; uncountable after in: a man in uniform.
Patterns
- in uniform
- wear a uniform
The children wear a blue uniform to school.
He looked sharp in his police uniform.
The team's new uniforms arrived on Friday.
verbtransitiveformal
To dress or provide a group with matching clothing.
Grammar: Takes an object and is mostly used in the passive: the staff were uniformed.
Patterns
- uniform someone
The hotel uniforms all of its doormen in gray coats.
The guards were uniformed in dark green.
Each club uniformed its young players for the parade.
Word forms
| plural | uniforms |
|---|---|
| comparative | more uniform |
| superlative | most uniform |
Common combinations
- school uniform
- Her school uniform included a gray skirt.
- uniform temperature
- The oven keeps a uniform temperature.
- in uniform
- Two officers in uniform stood by the door.
- wear a uniform
- Waiters must wear a uniform at work.
- remarkably uniform
- The results were remarkably uniform.
Synonyms and how they differ
- consistent
- Consistent stresses staying the same over time, while uniform stresses being the same across parts.
- even
- Even is more everyday and often describes surfaces or distribution, such as an even coat of paint.
- identical
- Identical means exactly alike, which is stronger than uniform's mostly similar.
- homogeneous
- Homogeneous is a formal, scientific word for a mixture that is the same throughout.
Opposites
Word family
- uniformly adverb
- in the same way throughout
- uniformity noun
- the quality of being the same
- uniformed adjective
- wearing a uniform
- unify verb
- to make into one
Commonly confused: uniform or unity?
uniform vs unity
Unity means being joined together as one; uniform means being the same in every part.
Practice
The company hopes to give customers a ___ experience in every branch.
Choose one answer.
Uniform means the same everywhere, which suits the goal of consistency. The other options suggest difference or do not fit the point.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “uniform”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.