rules

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of rule.

   The committee revised the rules governing campus parking last spring.

   Players who break the rules face penalties from the referee.

   Note

   A plural that covers only some of the noun's meanings. Regulations, guiding principles and court orders pluralize freely: the rules of the game, the rules of the court. Rule meaning government or control is uncountable, so foreign rule never becomes foreign rules. The same spelling also serves as the present-tense verb. In the judge rules on it, the word is a verb, not a noun.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of rule.

   The monarch rules in name only, while parliament holds the real power.

   An independent judge rules on each case based on the evidence presented.

   Note

   One spelling carries every sense of the verb, and what follows it tells them apart. With an object, it governs (she rules the kingdom) or marks paper with lines. Without one, it decides in court (the judge rules against him), or in slang means excels (this game rules). Keep the slang use out of formal writing.

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