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

In the video, Prince Harry also revealed that he had a rule that he would never be away from his family for more than 10 days.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Women centenarians rule in new Italian ‘blue zone.’

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

The rule was formally published on Sept. 30.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

The junta established under N'Tam, a close associate of Embalo, has set December 6 as the date for presidential and legislative elections meant to restore civilian rule.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

“When I rule Rio Luna, things will be different for all of us.”

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Under current rules, up to $50,000 of a home’s value can be excluded when property taxes are calculated.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

A high-school English teacher of mine had a few cardinal rules for writing an essay.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

They also don’t have set rules on what a vampire must look like.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

But nature has occasionally found ways around the usual rules.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

She had considered going after one of the stragglers, except that would have been against Clara’s rules.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

An umpire review ruled Anthony Volpe’s potential game-tying home run a double due to fan interference.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Ceferin has ruled out standing against Infantino himself but is committed to finding a candidate the game can unite around when Fifa holds its presidential election in March.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Spain’s highest court in 2023 ruled in favor of Urbagestión.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

She was sentenced to death, but that sentence was commuted to life in prison with the possibility of parole after the death penalty was ruled unconstitutional in 1972.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

The Court ruled in 2002 that, under federal law, public housing tenants can be evicted regardless of whether they had knowledge of or participated in alleged criminal activity.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Although Wednesday's ruling was a positive outcome for Southampton and Eckert, there was a lot of negative reaction online from supporters of other sides who felt the punishment was too lenient.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

The ruling led hundreds of people to flock to government refugee centres in recent days, reportedly including people who do not qualify for asylum.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

While Zuckerberg’s function in “The Social Reckoning” is to stand in for Facebook as an entity, Sorkin isn’t totally ruling out any further exploration of the man.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Judge Loren L. AliKhan did not issue a ruling.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

He paused and then said he wanted the parties to submit written briefs arguing what ruling he should make.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Related Words

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