rule

American  

[rool] / rul /

noun

• rules
  plural

1. a principle or regulation governing conduct, action, procedure, arrangement, etc..

   the rules of chess.

   Synonyms:

   order, dictate, decree, regulation, law, guideline, bylaw, standard, precept

2. the code of regulations observed by a religious order or congregation.

   the Franciscan rule.

3. the customary or normal circumstance, occurrence, manner, practice, quality, etc..

   the rule rather than the exception.

4. control, government, or dominion.

   under the rule of a dictator.

   Synonyms:

   tyranny, oppression, mastery, domination, regulation, management, government, direction, sway, power, dominion, command, authority

5. tenure or conduct of reign or office.

   during the rule of George III.

6. a prescribed mathematical method for performing a calculation or solving a problem.

7. ruler.

8. Astronomy. Rule, the constellation Norma.

9. Printing. a thin, type-high strip of metal, for printing a solid or decorative line or lines.

10. Law.

    1. a formal order or direction made by a court, as for governing the procedure of the court general rule or for sending the case before a referee special rule.

    2. a legal principle.

    3. a court order in a particular case.

11. Penology. rules, (formerly)

    1. a fixed area in the neighborhood of certain prisons within which certain prisoners were allowed to live.

    2. the freedom of such an area.

12. Obsolete. behavior.

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verb (used with object)

• rules,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ruled,
  past participle,  past
• ruling
  present participle

1. to control or direct; exercise dominating power, authority, or influence over; govern.

   to rule the empire with severity.

2. to decide or declare judicially or authoritatively; decree.

   The judge ruled that he should be exiled.

   Synonyms:

   judge, dictate

3. to mark with lines, especially parallel straight lines, with the aid of a ruler or the like.

   to rule paper.

4. to mark out or form (a line) by this method.

   to rule lines on paper.

5. to be superior or preeminent in (a specific field or group); dominate by superiority; hold sway over.

   For centuries, England ruled the seas.

verb (used without object)

• rules,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ruled,
  past participle,  past
• ruling
  present participle

1. to exercise dominating power or influence; predominate.

2. to exercise authority, dominion, or sovereignty.

3. to make a formal decision or ruling, as on a point at law.

4. to be prevalent or current.

   Higher prices ruled throughout France.

verb phrase

1. rule out

   1. to prove to be unrelated or not for consideration; eliminate; exclude.

      to rule out the possibility of error.

   2. to make impossible or impracticable.

      The rainstorm ruled out the holiday camping.

idioms

1. as a rule, generally; usually.

   He arrives at eleven o'clock, as a rule.

2. rule the roost. roost.

rule British  

/ ruːl /

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. the common order of things; normal condition

   violence was the rule rather than the exception

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

9. 1. a printed or drawn character in the form of a long thin line

   2. another name for dash 1

      en rule

      em rule

   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. normally or ordinarily

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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. to be pre-eminent; be in charge

rule More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing rule

• as a rule
• exception proves the rule
• ground rules

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Synonym Usage

See principle. Rule, administer, command, govern, manage mean to exercise authoritative guidance or direction. Rule implies the exercise of authority as by a sovereign: to rule a kingdom. Administer places emphasis on the planned and orderly procedures used: to administer the finances of an institution. Command suggests military authority and the power to exact obedience; to be in command of: to command a ship. To govern is authoritatively to guide or direct persons or things, especially in the affairs of a large administrative unit: to govern a state. To manage is to conduct affairs, i.e., to guide them in a unified way toward a definite goal, or to direct or control people, often by tact, address, or artifice: to manage a business.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• self-rule
  noun
• subrule
  noun
• underrule
  noun
• underrule
  verb
• interrule
  verb (used with object)
• rulable
  adjective
• unruled
  adjective
• well-ruled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• rules
  plural

Participles

• ruling
  present
• ruled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• rule
  simple
• rules
  simple
• have ruled
  perfect
• has ruled
  perfect
• am ruling
  progressive
• are ruling
  progressive
• is ruling
  progressive
• have been ruling
  perfect progressive
• has been ruling
  perfect progressive

Past

• ruled
  simple
• had ruled
  perfect
• was ruling
  progressive
• were ruling
  progressive
• had been ruling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will rule
  simple
• will have ruled
  perfect
• will be ruling
  progressive
• will have been ruling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of rule

First recorded in 1175–1225; (noun) Middle English riule, reule, from Old French riule, from Latin rēgula “straight stick, pattern” ( see regula); (verb) Middle English riwlen, reulen, rewellen, from Old French riuler, rieuler, ruler, from Late Latin rēgulāre, derivative of rēgula

Explanation

A rule is a regulation or direction for doing some particular activity. If you have a "no shoes" rule at your house, it means everyone has to take them off at the door. Other than laws or conditions about what can't and can't be done, rules can be tried-and-true tips like a grammar rule about subject-verb agreement or a spelling rule about making a singular noun plural. Rule can also pertain to power — how someone handles it or how long it lasts, like the peaceful rule of a king whose rule lasted 50 years.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rule rules ruled ruling

And according to two economists who spent a decade mining tax data to find out who is actually wealthy in America, his story is not the exception — it is closer to the rule.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

UCU members are now striking each weekday for over a month, as the university refuses to rule out compulsory redundancies.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

That difference helped rule out the possibility that geological processes at the fossil site had altered the chemical signatures in both animals in the same way.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

Federal regulations don’t require prediction markets to follow that rule.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

SABIO, SHALE: That’s because she does rule our entire lives.

From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly

The UK government recently announced sweeping changes to school dinner rules, banning deep-fried food and increasing the inclusion of fruit, vegetables, fibre and wholegrains, in attempt to tackle childhood obesity.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

Astronomers have long suspected that black holes obey the same basic physical rules even when their masses differ enormously.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026

The new rules limit words dealers can use to signal that the price they are advertising isn’t the lowest they are willing to go.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Reddit has provided enough evidence to show that Anthropic and Reddit are contractually bound by Reddit’s User Agreement, a judge rules.

From Barron's

Her spiky, free-form locs are improvisational jazz; they abide by no rules.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

The suit notes precedent is a case from 1977 that ruled the White House cannot arbitrarily restrict press credentials for reporters on grounds that there’s retaliation for viewpoint discrimination.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

A move up to the $140-a-barrel threshold can’t be entirely ruled out, he said, nor a more aggressive path of Federal Reserve rate hikes than is currently expected.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 20, 2026

A judge ruled the AI company could use books for training in some circumstances, but the “fair use” argument didn’t cover millions of books that Anthropic obtained from known ebook piracy sites.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

A federal judge has ruled that disappointment over a faceless Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkin isn’t enough to sustain a lawsuit against Hershey.

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026

Pandolfo Petrucci, Prince of Siena, ruled his state more with the assistance of men who had been held in suspicion than by others.

From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli

A ruling on that could be a landmark decision on the rights of these arbitrageurs, an industry that buys up shares in announced deals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

Relations between the Qumran sect and the ruling Hasmonean dynasty improved during the reign of Alexander Jannaeus.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

“While we disagree with the court’s ruling, UC will always seek to foster a welcoming environment that protects both freedom of expression and the fundamental rights of all members of our community,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

After the ruling, some social media accounts spread misinformation and offered to help migrants cross the Spanish border for hundreds of pounds.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

To the astonishment of the city’s ruling class, 78 percent of the 681 delegates to the Democratic convention voted for Harrison on the first ballot.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Related Words

• decree
• guideline
• law
• order
• precedent
• regulation
• ruling
• statute
• test