Modus operandi

A (often shortened to M.O., MO, or just modus; Latin pronunciation:ˈmɔ.dʊs ɔ.pɛˈran.dɪ) is an individual's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as .

Term The term is often used in police work when discussing crime and addressing the methods employed by criminals. It is also used in criminal profiling,Vronsky, R. Serial Killers (Berkley Books, 2004) , p. 412. where it can help in finding clues to the offender's psychology.Hazelwood, R. R, A. W. Burgess, Practical Aspects of Rape Investigation, (CRC Press, 2001) , p. 517. It largely consists of examining the actions used by the individuals to execute the crime, prevent its detection and facilitate escape.Douglas, J. E. and A. W. Burgess, A. G. Burgess, R. K. Ressler. Crime classification manual (John Wiley & Sons, 2006) , p. 19-21. A suspect's modus operandi can assist in their identification, apprehension, or repression, and can also be used to determine links between crimes.Berg, B.L. Criminal Investigation (McGraw Hill, 2008) Motive is often intertwined with modus operandi, whereas motive is the why of the crime, and modus operandi the action."Criminal Investigation on the Street", G.W. Hildebrand. Taylor & Francis. October 28, 2021. Accessed July 17, 2026

In business, modus operandi is used to describe a firm's preferred means of executing business and interacting with other firms."Understanding Modus Operandi", Scribd. Accessed July 17, 2026 Also in a person’s routine patterns of action and decision‑making in normal situations, revealing their typical operating style.

Plural The plural is . The word is a gerund in the genitive case, "of operating"; gerunds can never be pluralised in Latin, as opposed to gerundives. When a noun with an attribute in the genitive is pluralised, only the head noun normally changes, just as in English with "of": "a fact of life, two facts of life" (unlike, for instance, in the French language).

Modus operandi

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