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rule - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'rule' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Rule [ a.]
- That which is prescribed or laid down as a guide for conduct or action; a governing direction for a specific purpose; an authoritative enactment; a regulation; a prescription; a precept; as, the rules of various societies; the rules governing a school; a rule of etiquette or propriety; the rules of cricket.
- Uniform or established course of things.
- Systematic method or practice; as, my ule is to rise at six o'clock.
- Ordibary course of procedure; usual way; comon state or condition of things; as, it is a rule to which there are many exeptions.
- Conduct in general; behavior.
- The act of ruling; administration of law; government; empire; authority; control.
- An order regulating the practice of the courts, or an order made between parties to an action or a suit.
- A determinate method prescribed for performing any operation and producing a certain result; as, a rule for extracting the cube root.
- A general principle concerning the formation or use of words, or a concise statement thereof; thus, it is a rule in England, that s or es , added to a noun in the singular number, forms the plural of that noun; but "man" forms its plural "men", and is an exception to the rule.
- A straight strip of wood, metal, or the like, which serves as a guide in drawing a straight line; a ruler.
- A measuring instrument consisting of a graduated bar of wood, ivory, metal, or the like, which is usually marked so as to show inches and fractions of an inch, and jointed so that it may be folded compactly.
- A thin plate of metal (usually brass) of the same height as the type, and used for printing lines, as between columns on the same page, or in tabular work.
- A composing rule. See under Conposing.
2 . Rule [ n.]
- To control the will and actions of; to exercise authority or dominion over; to govern; to manage.
- To control or direct by influence, counsel, or persuasion; to guide; -- used chiefly in the passive.
- To establish or settle by, or as by, a rule; to fix by universal or general consent, or by common practice.
- To require or command by rule; to give as a direction or order of court.
- To mark with lines made with a pen, pencil, etc., guided by a rule or ruler; to print or mark with lines by means of a rule or other contrivance effecting a similar result; as, to rule a sheet of paper of a blank book.
3 . Rule [ v. i.]
- To have power or command; to exercise supreme authority; -- often followed by over.
- To lay down and settle a rule or order of court; to decide an incidental point; to enter a rule.
- To keep within a (certain) range for a time; to be in general, or as a rule; as, prices ruled lower yesterday than the day before.

Meaning of 'rule' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . rule [ n]
Meaning (1):
- the duration of a monarch's or government's power
Example in sentence:
  • during the rule of Elizabeth
Meaning (2):
- dominance or power through legal authority
Example in sentence:
  • France held undisputed dominion over vast areas of Africa;
  • the rule of Caesar
Meaning (3):
- (mathematics) a standard procedure for solving a class of mathematical problems
Example in sentence:
  • he determined the upper bound with Descartes' rule of signs;
  • he gave us a general formula for attacking polynomials
Meaning (4):
- directions that define the way a game or sport is to be conducted
Example in sentence:
  • he knew the rules of chess
Meaning (5):
- something regarded as a normative example
Example in sentence:
  • his formula for impressing visitors;
  • the convention of not naming the main character;
  • violence is the rule not the exception
Meaning (6):
- a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior
Example in sentence:
  • it was his rule to take a walk before breakfast;
  • short haircuts were the regulation
Meaning (7):
- a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the function of a complex system
Example in sentence:
  • the principle of jet propulsion;
  • the principle of the conservation of mass;
  • the right-hand rule for inductive fields
Meaning (8):
- any one of a systematic body of regulations defining the way of life of members of a religious order
Example in sentence:
  • the rule of St. Dominic
Meaning (9):
- a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct
Example in sentence:
  • their principles of composition characterized all their works
10 . rule [ v]
Meaning (10):
- decide on and make a declaration about
Example in sentence:
  • find someone guilty
Meaning (11):
- be larger in number, quantity, power, status or importance
Example in sentence:
  • Hispanics predominate in this neighborhood;
  • Money reigns supreme here
Meaning (12):
- keep in check
Example in sentence:
  • rule one's temper
Meaning (13):
- mark or draw with a ruler
Example in sentence:
  • rule the margins
Meaning (14):
- decide with authority
Example in sentence:
  • The King decreed that all firstborn males should be killed
Meaning (15):
- exercise authority over; as of nations
Example in sentence:
  • Who is governing the country now?

Nearby Words:

rulable rule-monger ruled ruleless ruler ruling rulingly rullichies ruly

See 'rule' also in:

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