rubric

American  

[roo-brik] / ˈru brɪk /

noun

1. a title, heading, direction, or the like, in a manuscript, book, statute, etc., written or printed in red or otherwise distinguished from the rest of the text.

2. a direction for the conduct of divine service or the administration of the sacraments, inserted in liturgical books.

3. any established mode of conduct or procedure; protocol.

4. an explanatory comment; gloss.

5. a class or category

6. Archaic. red ocher.

---

adjective

1. written, inscribed in, or marked with or as with red; rubrical.

2. Archaic. red; ruddy.

rubric British  

/ ˈruːbrɪk /

noun

1. a title, heading, or initial letter in a book, manuscript, or section of a legal code, esp one printed or painted in red ink or in some similarly distinguishing manner

2. a set of rules of conduct or procedure

3. a set of directions for the conduct of Christian church services, often printed in red in a prayer book or missal

4. instructions to a candidate at the head of the examination paper

5. an obsolete name for red ochre

---

adjective

1. written, printed, or marked in red

Usage

What does rubric mean? Rubric commonly refers to a set of guidelines or a protocol for how something will or should be done, like how an assignment will be graded. Rubric is also commonly used to mean a class or category. Its original meaning, which is still used, refers to text printed in red or set apart in some other way, such as a heading in a manuscript. Less commonly, rubric can be used as an adjective meaning written or marked in red. Example: Please check the rubric when writing your papers so you know exactly what I’m looking for.

Other Word Forms

• rubrical adjective
• rubrically adverb

Etymology

Origin of rubric

1325–75; < Latin rūbrīca red ocher (derivative of ruber red ¹ ); replacing Middle English rubriche, rubrike (noun) < Old French

Explanation

A rubric is a heading or a category in a chart, or a rule of conduct. A teacher's grading rubrics may include participation, homework completion, tests, quizzes, and papers. A rubric can also mean a rule or a procedure. If you use "might makes right" as the rubric for the formation of a list of classroom rules, you'll have a different-feeling classroom culture than if your rubric is "everyone deserves respect."

Example Sentences

“It’s about transparency. It’s objectivity. It’s being able to identify the conflicts of interest, mitigate or eliminate the ones that are substantial, and then disclose—because our federal securities rubric is a disclosure-based regime,” Dahiya says.

From Barron's • Jan. 30, 2026

It can help to think in loose categories — less a rubric than a set of handles you can grab when decision-making feels like too much:

From Salon • Jan. 29, 2026

Inglewood high school English teacher Alyssa Bolden learned from one of her students that AI could customize an essay by incorporating the student’s notes from Bolden’s lectures as well as her unique evaluation rubric.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2025

Crunchiness and containerization offer a retreat into aesthetics, as well as a rubric for manifesting safety and security in an insecure time.

From Slate • Mar. 15, 2025

But the rubric for the assignment asks for dialogue.

From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers