- present participle of rule.
ruling
Americannoun
adjective
-
governing or dominating.
the ruling party.
-
controlling; predominating.
the ruling factor in recovery from an illness.
-
widespread; prevalent.
ruling prices; ruling values.
noun
-
a decision of someone in authority, such as a judge
-
one or more parallel ruled lines
adjective
-
controlling or exercising authority
the ruling classes
-
prevalent or predominant
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of ruling
1175–1225; Middle English (gerund); see rule, -ing 1, -ing 2
Explanation
The official decision a judge makes is a ruling. You can also use this word as an adjective, to describe something or someone in charge, like a ruling political party. The group with political power in a country might be described as the ruling coalition, and the government itself could be called the ruling authority. When it's a noun, the word ruling has a legal meaning: it's the court's opinion. This definition dates from the 1550s, from the verb rule, from its Latin root regula, "straight stick or bar."
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.
See Examples For:
But in a ruling on Tuesday, Lord Justice Holgate and Lord Justice Dove dismissed the appeal bids.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
A recent ruling by Spain’s Supreme Court, which made it harder for immigrants who reach Ceuta illegally by sea to be returned to Morocco, also likely played a role, Sánchez said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Explaining his favorable ruling, Judge Robert Shelby wrote, “It is not the Constitution that has changed, but the knowledge of what it means to be gay or lesbian.”
From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026
Spain has blamed criminal gangs for spreading rumours that a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling on immigration would allow migrants easier passage.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
The three-judge panel issued a ruling lifting the stay on a district judge’s injunction to not enforce the ban on same-sex marriages.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
The latest decisions include all four members of the survivor advocacy group No One Above, who had been awaiting rulings after being referred to the NRM by the anti-slavery charity Unseen.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
He wrote the court’s four major rulings rejecting discrimination based on sexual orientation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
My understanding is that the Onion won the auction to buy all the assets after its collapse, but now there are all these court rulings and back-and-forth.
From Slate ● Jul. 12, 2026
But in recent years executives of public companies expressed frustration with the Delaware Court of Chancery, often following legal rulings that didn’t go their way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
The Court began insisting that federal judges defer more to state court rulings, which tended to be more indulgent of errors and defects in capital proceedings.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
