# rule

Pronunciation: US say "ROOL" /ɹuːl/; AUS

## Noun

1. A regulation, law, or guideline that sets out what is allowed or required.
   - Simple: A statement that tells you what you must or must not do.
   - _The committee added a rule requiring every member to register in advance._
   - _Safety rules on the factory floor are strictly enforced._
4. A principle or set method that describes how something works or how a task should be carried out.
   - Simple: An idea or method that says how something works or how to do something.
   - _Supply and demand is a basic rule of economics._
   - _Engineers rely on the rule that heat flows naturally from warmer objects to cooler ones._
5. The exercise of authority over a country or people; government, administration, or control.
   - Simple: The power to control a country or group of people.
   - _The empire expanded steadily under his rule._
   - _Colonial rule reshaped the region's borders and economy._
6. The usual or normal state of affairs; what typically happens rather than the exception.
   - Simple: The usual way things normally happen.
   - _Delays during the holiday season are the rule rather than the exception._
   - _In that newsroom, late nights were the rule for everyone._
9. A court order regulating legal procedure, or one made between the parties to a lawsuit.
   - Simple: An official order from a court about how a case should be handled.
11. A straight continuous line, such as one drawn across a sheet as a guide for writing.
   - Simple: A straight line drawn on paper to help keep writing neat.
   - _The accountant added a rule beneath the final figure._
   - _A thin rule separated the heading from the text below._
12. A straightedge or measuring device used for drawing straight lines and measuring length.
   - Simple: A flat strip of wood, metal, or plastic used to measure or draw straight lines.
   - _She checked the length twice with a folding rule before cutting the board._
   - _A boxwood rule from the old workshop still measured accurately after decades._

## Verb

2. To govern or be in charge of a country, people, or place, making decisions for them.
   - Simple: To be in charge of a country or group and make decisions for it.
   - _Emperors once ruled vast territories that stretched across three continents._
   - _The old king had no heir, so no one knew who would rule after him._
3. To make and state an official decision, especially as a judge or court on a legal matter.
   - Simple: To make an official decision, often in a court of law.
   - _The justices ruled unanimously on the disputed contract._
   - _A good judge must rule without favor or bias._
7. Said of an emotion, instinct or force: to govern or heavily sway how someone acts or lives, or how events unfold.
   - Simple: To control or strongly affect what a person does or what happens, said of a feeling or force.
   - _On days like this, fear and greed rule the stock market._
   - _For years after the divorce, jealousy ruled his every decision._
8. To be excellent or vastly superior to others. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To be very good, impressive, or better than everything else.
   - _When it comes to crossword puzzles, she rules._
   - _Skateboarders all agree that these ramps rule._
10. To mark paper or a similar surface with straight lines, especially as guides for writing.
   - Simple: To draw straight lines on paper, often as a guide for writing.
   - _The clerk ruled each ledger sheet into neat columns._
   - _Printers would rule the sheets carefully before binding them._

## Verb

13. To establish or settle something by a rule, or to fix it by general consent or common practice. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To make something fixed or settled by a rule or by what people usually do.
16. To take part in revelry; to celebrate boisterously. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To celebrate in a wild, noisy way.

## Noun

14. A thin plate of brass or other metal, the same height as the type, used to print lines such as those between columns or in tables. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A thin metal strip used in old printing to make straight lines on a page.
   - _The compositor slid a rule into the form to separate the headings._
   - _The compositor trimmed a length of brass rule and set it between the columns of type._
15. A person's conduct or general manner of behaving. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The way a person behaves or acts toward others.
17. Boisterous merrymaking; revelry. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Wild, noisy fun and celebration.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 4–6, 9, 11–12, 14–15** — Latin regō ("to keep straight, direct, govern, rule"), which goes back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to straighten," gave regula ("straight stick, bar, ruler, pattern"). This became Old French riule, and Middle English borrowed it as reule. Rail, regal, regula, and rigol are doublets.
**Meanings 2–3, 7–8, 10, 13** — Latin regula ("a rule") gave regulāre ("to regulate, rule"), which became Old French riuler and was borrowed into Middle English as reulen. Regular and regulate are related.
**Meanings 16–17** — The old revelry senses are related to revel and have no link to the rule that comes from Latin regula.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/rule (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).