norm

¹ American  

[nawrm] / nɔrm /

noun

1. a standard, model, or pattern.

2. general level or average.

   Two cars per family is the norm in most suburban communities.

3. a behavior pattern or trait considered typical of a particular social group.

   The patients regained the norms of everyday life after their hospitalization.

4. Sociology. a pattern or standard of behavior expected of each member of a social group.

   In many countries, cultural norms result in women bearing primary responsibility for childcare.

5. Education.

   1. a designated standard of average performance of people of a given age, background, etc.

   2. a standard based on the past average performance of a given individual.

6. Mathematics.

   1. a real-valued, nonnegative function whose domain is a vector space, with properties such that the function of a vector is zero only when the vector is zero, the function of a scalar times a vector is equal to the absolute value of the scalar times the function of the vector, and the function of the sum of two vectors is less than or equal to the sum of the functional values of each vector. The norm of a real number is its absolute value.

   2. the greatest difference between two successive points of a given partition.

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Norm. ² American  

abbreviation

1. Norman.

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norm ¹ British  

/ nɔːm /

noun

1. an average level of achievement or performance, as of a group or person

2. a standard of achievement or behaviour that is required, desired, or designated as normal

3. sociol an established standard of behaviour shared by members of a social group to which each member is expected to conform

4. maths

   1. the length of a vector expressed as the square root of the sum of the square of its components

   2. another name for mode

5. geology the theoretical standard mineral composition of an igneous rock

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Norm. ² British  

abbreviation

1. Norman

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Norm ³ British  

/ nɔːm /

noun

1. a stereotype of the unathletic Australian male

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norm. ⁴ British  

abbreviation

1. normal

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Other Word Forms

• normless adjective

Etymology

Origin of norm

First recorded in 1820–30; from Latin norma “carpenter's square, rule, pattern”

Example Sentences

The result has been an arrangement where Fed independence is protected no longer by norms, but by court orders.

From The Wall Street Journal

Talking to friends in L.A., such experiences seem to be the norm rather than the exception — people either have gripes about their neighbors or no feelings at all.

From Los Angeles Times

But over the last two weeks it has dominated headlines, with huge and unusual rises and falls starting to feel like the new norm.

From BBC

Nonetheless, when it comes to a deliberate exploration of men’s inner lives—how they think, feel and express themselves—the male psyche is becoming less the norm than an aberration.

From The Wall Street Journal

Its leaders argue the law is necessary to protect Senegalese cultural and religious norms.

From BBC

Related Words

• benchmark
• criterion
• measure
• model
• pattern
• rule