English Dictionary

Definition of “rule”

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rule (ruːlPronunciation for rule) 

Definitions

noun

  1. an authoritative regulation or direction concerning method or procedure, as for a court of law, legislative body, game, or other human institution or activity  ⇒ judges' rules play according to the rules 
  2. the exercise of governmental authority or control  ⇒ the rule of Caesar 
  3. the period of time in which a monarch or government has power  ⇒ his rule lasted 100 days 
  4. a customary form or procedure; regular course of action  ⇒ he made a morning swim his rule 
  5. See the rule
  6. a prescribed method or procedure for solving a mathematical problem, or one constituting part of a computer program, usually expressed in an appropriate formalism
  7. a formal expression of a grammatical regularity in a linguistic description of a language
  8. any of various devices with a straight edge for guiding or measuring; ruler  ⇒ a carpenter's rule 
    1. a printed or drawn character in the form of a long thin line
    2.  ⇒ en rule em rule another name for dash1 (sense 13)
    3. a strip of brass or other metal used to print such a line
  10. Christianity a systematic body of prescriptions defining the way of life to be followed by members of a religious order
  11. law an order by a court or judge
  12. See as a rule

verb

  1. to exercise governing or controlling authority over (a people, political unit, individual, etc)  ⇒ he ruled for 20 years his passion for her ruled his life 
  2. (when tr, often takes a clause as object) to decide authoritatively; decree  ⇒ the chairman ruled against the proposal 
  3. (tr) to mark with straight parallel lines or make one straight line, as with a ruler  ⇒ to rule a margin 
  4. (tr) to restrain or control  ⇒ to rule one's temper 
  5. (intr) to be customary or prevalent  ⇒ chaos rules in this school 
  6. (intr) to be pre-eminent or superior  ⇒ football rules in the field of sport 
  7. (tr) astrology (of a planet) to have a strong affinity with certain human attributes, activities, etc, associated with (one or sometimes two signs of the zodiac)  ⇒ Mars rules Aries 
  8. See rule the roost

Alternative Forms

ˈrulable adjective

Word Origin

C13: from Old French riule , from Latin rēgula a straight edge; see regulate

Quotations

  • "He shall rule them with a rod of iron" Bible: Revelation
  • "My people and I have come to an agreement which satisfies us both. They are to say what they please, and I am to do what I please" Frederick the Great
  • "The hand that rocks the cradleIs the hand that rules the world" William Ross Wallace
  • "Rules and models destroy genius and art" William Hazlitt

Translations

  • British English: rule Pronunciation for rule Rules are instructions that tell you what you must do or must not do.Can you explain the rules of cricket to me?ruːl NOUN Can you explain the rules of cricket to me?
  • Spanish: regla Pronunciation for regla nf
  • French: règle Pronunciation for règle nf
  • German: Regel Pronunciation for Regel nf
  • Chinese: 规则Pronunciation for 规则 n
  • Arabic: حُكْمPronunciation for حُكْم n
  • Portuguese: regraPronunciation for regra nf
  • Russian: правилоPronunciation for правило nnt
  • Croatian: praviloPronunciation for pravilo nnt
  • Czech: pravidloPronunciation for pravidlo nnt
  • Danish: regelPronunciation for regel nutr
  • Dutch: regelPronunciation for regel nm
  • Finnish: sääntöPronunciation for sääntö n
  • Greek: κανόναςPronunciation for κανόνας nm
  • Italian: regolaPronunciation for regola nf
  • Japanese: 規則Pronunciation for 規則 n
  • Korean: 규칙Pronunciation for 규칙 n
  • Norwegian: regelPronunciation for regel nm
  • Polish: regułaPronunciation for reguła nf
  • Brazilian Portuguese: regraPronunciation for regra nf
  • European Spanish: regla Pronunciation for regla nf
  • Swedish: regelPronunciation for regel nutr
  • Thai: หลักเกณฑ์Pronunciation for หลักเกณฑ์ n
  • Turkish: kuralPronunciation for kural n
  • Vietnamese: quy tắcPronunciation for quy tắc n
  • British English: rule Someone who rules a country controls it.He ruled the country until his death. He ruled for eight months.ruːl VERB He ruled the country until his death. He ruled for eight months.
  • French: gouverner vt
  • Arabic: يَتَحَكَّمُ v
  • Brazilian Portuguese: governar vt

Usage examples

  • The greedy, the corrupt, the stupid, the inefficient -- the nobodies who make themselves into somebodies who rule everybody.
    Robert Wilson, BLOOD IS DIRT (2002)
  • Highways to Hell Rock'n'roll's first rule of the road: What happens on tour stays on tour.
    Maxim (2004)
  • Accident and Emergency nurses vote today on whether to end their work to rule in A&E departments.
    Irish Times (2002)
  • King Mswati III has come under increasing criticism over the past year for his authoritarian rule.
    Glasgow Herald (2001)
  • There's only one rule for essential oils --- buy the real thing.
    Sally Gunnell, Kathryn Leigh, BE YOUR BEST: How Anyone can become Fit, Healthy and Confident (2002)

Commonness

All English words that begin with 'R'

Related Terms

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