rule

Plural: rules

Noun

• a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior
  • "it was his rule to take a walk before breakfast"
• something regarded as a normative example
  • "violence is the rule not the exception"
• prescribed guide for conduct or action
• (linguistics) a rule describing (or prescribing) a linguistic practice
• a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct
• the duration of a monarch's or government's power
  • "during the rule of Elizabeth"
• dominance or power through legal authority
  • "the rule of Caesar"
• directions that define the way a game or sport is to be conducted
  • "he knew the rules of chess"
• any one of a systematic body of regulations defining the way of life of members of a religious order
  • "the rule of St. Dominic"
• a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the function of a complex system
  • "the right-hand rule for inductive fields"
• (mathematics) a standard procedure for solving a class of mathematical problems
  • "he determined the upper bound with Descartes' rule of signs"
• 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
• A regulation, law, guideline.
• A regulating principle.
• The act of ruling; administration of law; government; empire; authority; control.
• A normal condition or state of affairs.
• Conduct; behaviour.
• 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.
• A ruler; device for measuring, a straightedge, a measure.
• A straight line (continuous mark, as made by a pen or the like), especially one lying across a paper as a guide for writing.
• 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.
• Revelry.

Verb

Verb Forms: ruled, ruling, rules

• To exercise authoritative control or governance over.
• exercise authority over; as of nations
• decide with authority
• be larger in number, quantity, power, status or importance
• decide on and make a declaration about
• have an affinity with; of signs of the zodiac
• mark or draw with a ruler
  • "rule the margins"
• keep in check
  • "rule one's temper"
• To regulate, be in charge of, make decisions for, reign over.
• To excel.
• To decide judicially.
• To establish or settle by, or as by, a rule; to fix by universal or general consent, or by common practice.
• To mark (paper or the like) with rules (lines).
• To revel.

Examples

• All participants must adhere to the rules.
• As a rule, our senior editors are serious-minded.
• My rule is to rise at six o'clock.
• The Scrabble dictionary will always RULE over any player’s personal interpretation of word validity.
• This game rules!
• You have to follow the rules to enter the qualifiers for the football tournament.

Synonyms

convention, decree, dominate, dominion, find, formula, govern, harness, linguistic rule, normal, pattern, predominate, prescript, prevail, principle, regulation, reign, rein, ruler, bang, devour, eat, eat and leave no crumbs, excel, go hard, hold, kick, kick ass, rock, rule, shine, slap, slay

Antonyms

stink, suck

Related Words

Appendix:Roget MICRA thesaurus/Class I § 82. Conformity, Appendix:Roget MICRA thesaurus/Class V § 613. Habit, Madison, adhere [⇒ thesaurus] to, administer, administration, administrator, algorithm, ambiguous, attribute, basic, bureaucracy, bureaucrat, caprice, characteristic, clear, clear-cut, command, complicated, comply with, confusing, constitutional, constraint, convention, criterion, draft, drafter, exception, familiar, flexible, follow, formula, freedom, general, government, instruction, lawgiver, lawmaker, leeway, legal, legislator, liberty, limit, limitation, norm, obey, phrase, policy maker, predicate, principle, procedure, prohibition, property, regent, regular, regulate, regulator, restriction, rigid, routine, rule maker, rule of thumb, saying, sentence, silly, simple, specific, straightforward, strange, strict, stupid, subjectivity, test, unambiguous, unpredictability, unspoken, unwritten, violate, violator, whim, word, RULABLE