noun
-
a measure or standard used for comparison
on what kind of yardstick is he basing his criticism?
-
a graduated stick, one yard long, used for measurement
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of yardstick
Explanation
A long tool used to measure lengths of up to three feet is called a yardstick. A carpenter carefully measuring lengths of wood before cutting might use a yardstick. A yardstick is basically a long ruler — three times as long, to be specific — with units marked in inches. Most are made of wood, sometimes hinged so they can be folded, and their size makes them ideal for specific tasks in construction and carpentry. The word yardstick is also used figuratively to mean "standard or benchmark." So you might say that your yardstick for success as a gardener is how many tomatoes you pick over the summer.
Vocabulary lists containing yardstick
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:
Using mom’s life span as a yardstick puts things in perspective.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
And where we’ve taken pictures of our children every December since 2009, something of a yardstick for their youth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
Warsh has a preferred way to measure inflation that produces a result nearly a full percentage point lower than the Fed’s currently preferred yardstick.
From Barron's ● May 11, 2026
It produces a result that is nearly a full percentage point lower than the Fed’s currently preferred yardstick.
From Barron's ● May 11, 2026
In fact, no matter how tiny you make the bits, it is impossible to choose a common yardstick that will measure both the side and the diagonal perfectly: the diagonal is incommensurable with the side.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
By the usual economic yardsticks — such as income, industry and technology — it looks fully developed, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the World Bank treat it that way.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
Based on yardsticks such as the price/earnings ratio and enterprise value to free cash flow, the valuation isn’t egregious.
From Barron's ● Dec. 24, 2025
It was one of the warning lights for technicians who watch such yardsticks for clues about the market’s direction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 19, 2025
Even if he did not have a famous writer for a father, Dubus would have plenty of yardsticks against which to measure his achievements, pains and pleasures.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2024
A hundred and fifty mice pushed back from their yardsticks and rose to their feet.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
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.
