modems

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of modem.

   The internet provider shipped replacement modems to every affected customer.

   Cable modems generally deliver faster speeds than the dial-up units they replaced.

   Note

   Nothing irregular here: the noun takes a plain -s, as most nouns ending in a consonant do. The same spelling also serves the present-tense verb meaning "transmits by modem," so context does the sorting. After a number, an article or an adjective (two modems, the modems, cable modems), it counts devices. After a singular subject it names an action.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of modem.

   Note

   Here the device has become an action. To modem something is to send it by modem, and the -s marks a singular subject in the present tense: the unit modems its readings, she modems the file. The verb usually takes an object, the thing transmitted. Its spelling matches the plural noun, but a verb stands right after its subject, and that position settles which one is meant.

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