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Rule
Definitions
- 1 A surname. countable, uncountable
- 2 An unincorporated community in Carroll County, Arkansas, United States. countable, uncountable
- 3 A town in Haskell County, Texas, United States. countable, uncountable
- 1 A regulation, law, guideline. countable, uncountable
"All participants must adhere to the rules."
- 2 Revelry. obsolete
- 3 measuring stick consisting of a strip of wood or metal or plastic with a straight edge that is used for drawing straight lines and measuring lengths wordnet
- 4 A regulating principle. countable, uncountable
"There's little can be said in 't; 'Tis against the rule of nature."
- 5 something regarded as a normative example wordnet
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- 6 The act of ruling; administration of law; government; empire; authority; control. uncountable
"Obey them that have the rule over you."
- 7 a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior wordnet
- 8 A normal condition or state of affairs. countable, uncountable
"My rule is to rise at six o'clock."
- 9 (mathematics) a standard procedure for solving a class of mathematical problems wordnet
- 10 Conduct; behaviour. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"This uncivil rule; she shall know of it."
- 11 a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the function of a complex system wordnet
- 12 An order regulating the practice of the courts, or an order made between parties to an action or a suit. countable, uncountable
- 13 a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct wordnet
- 14 A determinate method prescribed for performing any operation and producing a certain result. countable, uncountable
"a rule for extracting the cube root"
- 15 any one of a systematic body of regulations defining the way of life of members of a religious order wordnet
- 16 A ruler; device for measuring, a straightedge, a measure. countable, uncountable
"As we may observe in the Works of Art, a Judicious Artist will indeed use his Eye, but he will trust only to his Rule."
- 17 prescribed guide for conduct or action wordnet
- 18 A straight line (continuous mark, as made by a pen or the like), especially one lying across a paper as a guide for writing. countable, uncountable
- 19 directions that define the way a game or sport is to be conducted wordnet
- 20 A thin plate of brass or other metal, of the same height as the type, and used for printing lines, as between columns on the same page, or in tabular work. countable, dated, uncountable
- 21 (linguistics) a rule describing (or prescribing) a linguistic practice wordnet
- 22 dominance or power through legal authority wordnet
- 23 the duration of a monarch's or government's power wordnet
- 1 To regulate, be in charge of, make decisions for, reign over. stative, transitive
"And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them. Soft heartedness caused more harm than good."
- 2 To revel. intransitive, obsolete
- 3 keep in check wordnet
- 4 To excel. intransitive, slang, stative
"This game rules!"
- 5 decide with authority wordnet
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- 6 To decide judicially. intransitive
"The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation."
- 7 decide on and make a declaration about wordnet
- 8 To establish or settle by, or as by, a rule; to fix by universal or general consent, or by common practice. transitive
"That's a ruled case with the school-men."
- 9 mark or draw with a ruler wordnet
- 10 To mark (paper or the like) with rules (lines). transitive
- 11 exercise authority over; as of nations wordnet
- 12 be larger in number, quantity, power, status or importance wordnet
- 13 have an affinity with; of signs of the zodiac wordnet
- 14 be excellent or outstanding wordnet
Etymology
From Middle English reule, rewle, rule, borrowed from Old French riule, reule, from Latin regula (“straight stick, bar, ruler, pattern”), from regō (“to keep straight, direct, govern, rule”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃réǵeti (“to straighten; right”), from the root *h₃reǵ-; see regent. Doublet of rail, regal, regula, and rigol.
From Middle English reulen, rulen, borrowed from Old French riuler, from Latin regulāre (“to regulate, rule”), from regula (“a rule”); see regular and regulate.
Related to revel.
Related to revel.
See also for "rule"
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