Rules

British

/ ruːlz /

plural noun

short for Australian Rules
English history the neighbourhood around certain prisons (esp the Fleet and King's Bench prison) in which trusted prisoners were allowed to live under specified restrictions

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention,” the 2020 book Hastings wrote with journalist Erin Meyer, describes how he initially opposed allowing users to download films and television programs to watch later.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 18, 2026

In a separate event on Wednesday, Prince Harry joined players from an Australian Rules football team for a lesson in how to play a game and visited the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

He later joined “Road Rules: All Stars,” where he met his future wife Rachel Campos-Duffy.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

Appeared in the March 25, 2026, print edition as 'Jury Rules Meta Harmed Children'.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

“And we’ll be sure to make that point clear when we ask for permission. Rules are rules, Amari. If an emergency session is called, we could probably have an answer in about twenty-four hours.”

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023