rule
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A principle or condition that customarily governs behavior.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
roolIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹul
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A principle or condition that customarily governs behavior
“It was his rule to take a walk before breakfast.”
A regulation, law, guideline.
uncountable
The act of ruling; administration of law; government; empire; authority; control.
A regulating principle.
A normal condition or state of affairs.
A straight line (continuous mark, as made by a pen or the like), especially one lying across a paper as a guide for writing.
verb
transitive
To establish or settle by, or as by, a rule; to fix by universal or general consent, or by common practice.
intransitive
To decide judicially.
transitive
To mark (paper or the like) with rules (lines).
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A principle or condition that customarily governs behavior
Used this way, rule is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in ethics or values contexts.
“It was his rule to take a walk before breakfast.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Ethics/values
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “rule to …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Nearby words
- prescript , rarer, so it draws attention
Natural pattern: rule to …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use rule
- “It was his rule to take a walk before breakfast.”noun
- “He knew the rules of chess.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
A person who rules or commands.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A rule that when literal compliance is impossible the intention of a donor or testator should be carried out as nearly as possible.
A rule of law whereby any alleged matter of fact that is submitted for investigation at a judicial trial is established or disproved.
A linguistic rule for the syntax of grammatical utterances.
A linguistic rule for the formation of words.
A rule or principle that provides guidance to appropriate behavior.
Make impossible, especially beforehand.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.