guideline
Americannoun
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any guide or indication of a future course of action.
guidelines on the government's future policy.
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a lightly marked line used as a guide, as in composing a drawing, a typed page, or a line of lettering.
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a rope or cord that serves to guide one's steps, especially over rocky terrain, through underground passages, etc.
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a rope or wire used in guiding the movement of stage scenery or curtains being raised or lowered.
noun
Etymology
Origin of guideline
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.
I added in the guideline that we shouldn’t sanction an editor just because they start overusing some words or speaking in what’s “seen” as an A.I.-like tone.
From Slate • Apr. 1, 2026
A key shift in the new guideline is the push for screening at younger ages and a broader look at personal risk.
From Science Daily • Mar. 29, 2026
And for the guideline bodies: The precision-medicine framework applied to oncology and cardiology has not yet reached metabolic pharmacology.
From Slate • Mar. 22, 2026
“Never bet against America” was one of Warren Buffett’s maxims and has been a good guideline for decades.
From Barron's • Jan. 26, 2026
I realized then why he had used our rope sparingly; why he had made my guideline down to east beach from vines instead of rope.
From "The Cay" by Theodore Taylor
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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.