normal

 
Pronunciation: /ˈnɔːm(ə)l/

adjective

  • 1conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected: it’s quite normal for puppies to bolt their food normal working hours
  • (of a person) free from physical or mental disorders: until her accident Louise had been a perfectly normal little girl many previously normal people exhibit psychotic symptoms after a few nights without sleep
  • 2 technical (of a line, ray, or other linear feature) intersecting a given line or surface at right angles: a single plane of symmetry with a diad axis normal to it
  • 3 Medicine (of a salt solution) containing the same salt concentration as the blood: dilute the stock solution with sterile water or normal saline
  • Chemistry, dated (of a solution) containing one gram-equivalent of solute per litre.
  • 4 Geology denoting a fault or faulting in which a relative downward movement occurred in the strata situated on the upper side of the fault plane.

noun

  • 1 [mass noun] the usual, typical, or expected state or condition: her temperature was above normal the service will be back to normal next week
  • informal a person who is conventional or healthy.
  • 2 technical a line at right angles to a given line or surface: the view is along the normal to the surface

Phrases

the new normal

chiefly North American
a previously unfamiliar or atypical situation that has become standard, usual, or expected: 32% of Americans say spending less is the new normal, according to a recent poll

Origin:

mid 17th century (in the sense 'right-angled'): from Latin normalis, from norma 'carpenter's square' (see norm). Current senses date from the early 19th century