uniform

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French uniforme, from Latin uniformis.

adj

1. Unvarying; all the same.
   "Chocolate and cream," the standard colours of G.W.R. rolling stock for 21 years, are now being replaced by an all-over utility coating of reddish-brown. This is the third time that a uniform brown has been adopted as the standard livery of G.W.R. carriages. 1943 March and April, “G.W.R. Rolling Stock Colours”, in Railway Magazine, page 106
2. Consistent; conforming to one standard.
   The only doubt is, about the manner of their unity; how far Churches are bound to be uniform in their Ceremonies, and what way they ought to take for that purpose. 1593, Richard Hooker, “Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity”, in The Ecclesiastical Polity and Other Works of Richard Hooker, published 1830, page 313
3. (mathematics) with speed of convergence not depending on choice of function argument; as in uniform continuity, uniform convergence
4. (chemistry, of a polymer) Composed of a single macromolecular species.
5. (geometry) (of a polyhedron) That is isogonal and whose faces are regular polygons; (of an n-dimensional (n>3) polytope) that is isogonal and whose bounding (n-1)-dimensional facets are uniform polytopes.

noun

1. A distinctive outfit that serves to identify members of a group.
   The Hooverette [housedress] can be worn as a dress or as an apron. This is the latest in uniforms, madam, according to Vogue. 1932, Elmer Wheeler, Tested Selling Sentences (the Language of the Brain): Master Book
   ‘[…] I remember a lady coming to inspect St. Mary's Home where I was brought up and seeing us all in our lovely Elizabethan uniforms we were so proud of, and bursting into tears all over us because “it was wicked to dress us like charity children”. […]’. 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 6, in The China Governess
   F. W. Robertson There are many things which a soldier will do in his plain clothes which he scorns to do in his uniform.
   Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16.[…]There are no inspectors, no exams until the age of 18, no school league tables, no private tuition industry, no school uniforms. […] 2013-07-19, Peter Wilby, “Finland spreads word on schools”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 30
2. (international standards) Alternative letter-case form of Uniform from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.
3. (law enforcement) A uniformed police officer (as opposed to a detective).
   Skeletor held the gun against Speedo’s head, held Speedo between himself and the cops who stood, motionless and futile, where they’d stopped. Robinson, Lindfors, Carter, three uniforms and I watched helpless as Skeletor, dragging Speedy with him, inched out the gate, started backing down the hill. 1996, S. J. Rozan, Concourse, Macmillan, page 265
   Four men flew out of it, three uniforms and one in what appeared to be an English riding outfit—boots, whip, the whole nine yards. […] He called out, “I’m the superintendent of police.” 2001, Christine Wiltz, The Last Madam: A Life in the New Orleans Underworld, Da Capo Press, page 113
   Eyes to the front now and there was the body, a lump of black and brown. Moon counted three uniforms and a photographer, the medical examiner and his assistant. 2004, Will Christopher Baer, Penny Dreadful, MacAdam/Cage Publishing, page 81

verb

1. (transitive) To clothe in a uniform.
   You can't erect an army by uniforming and drilling a few hundred thousand clerks and farmers. 1910, Robert W. Chambers, Ailsa Paige