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:
The group expects both a "high single-digit percentage" fall in "net bookings", its preferred sales yardstick that excludes deferred revenues, and a "high single-digit negative" operating margin.
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
Book value, or shareholder equity, has been a good yardstick for Berkshire stock during Buffett’s tenure.
From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026
Brent crude, the global yardstick for prices, fell around 13% to $95 a barrel on Wednesday following the cease-fire announcement, still significantly above its roughly $60 level in early January.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
The result may not be the yardstick for England.
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2026
She sat up straight, like someone had slipped a yardstick down the back of her bright red business suit.
From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein
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
Since then, he has scored his and others’ predictions against those yardsticks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2024
But inflation shrinks the dollar, like shrinking a yardstick, so that you need more dollars to buy the same thing, or more yardsticks to cover the same distance.
From Washington Times ● May 10, 2023
Cecil, the headwaiter, scanned up and down the yardsticks for somewhere to seat us.
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.
