ground rules

Idioms  

1. Basic procedures of conduct, as in The press secretary sets the ground rules for all of the President's press conferences. The term comes from baseball, where it refers to specific rules for a particular ballpark, which are based on special conditions such as a very high outfield fence or a field obstruction of some kind. It began to be transferred to more general use in the mid-1900s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ground rules

Bonta canceled a session last month after prelimary details and ground rules leaked, prompting him to accuse Paramount of “playing games” by violating a confidentiality agreement and spreading misinformation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Or approach your boss about setting clearer ground rules in meetings.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

However, judges said their opinion, which is not binding, should not be understood as laying out any other ground rules for strike action.

From Barron's ● May 21, 2026

The ground rules were clear: Nothing they said would leave the room.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 21, 2026

Some kind of awkward discussion about ground rules.

From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli