Dictionary definition for: Rule

1. (n) a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior; "it was his rule to take a walk before breakfast" "short haircuts were the regulation"

2. (v) exercise authority over; as of nations; "Who is governing the country now?"

3. (n) something regarded as a normative example; "the convention of not naming the main character" "violence is the rule not the exception" "his formula for impressing visitors"

4. (v) decide with authority; "The King decreed that all first-born males should be killed"

5. (v) be larger in number, quantity, power, status or importance; "Money reigns supreme here" "Hispanics predominate in this neighborhood"

6. (n) prescribed guide for conduct or action

7. (n) (linguistics) a rule describing (or prescribing) a linguistic practice

8. (v) decide on and make a declaration about; "find someone guilty"

9. (n) a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct; "their principles of composition characterized all their works"

10. (v) have an affinity with; of signs of the zodiac

11. (v) mark or draw with a ruler; "rule the margins"

12. (n) a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the function of a complex system; "the principle of the conservation of mass" "the principle of jet propulsion" "the right-hand rule for inductive fields"

13. (n) the duration of a monarch''s or government''s power; "during the rule of Elizabeth"

14. (v) keep in check; "rule one''s temper"

15. (n) dominance or power through legal authority; "France held undisputed dominion over vast areas of Africa" "the rule of Caesar"

16. (n) directions that define the way a game or sport is to be conducted; "he knew the rules of chess"

17. (n) any one of a systematic body of regulations defining the way of life of members of a religious order; "the rule of St. Dominic"

18. (n) (mathematics) a standard procedure for solving a class of mathematical problems; "he determined the upper bound with Descartes" rule of signs" "he gave us a general formula for attacking polynomials"

19. (n) measuring stick consisting of a strip of wood or metal or plastic with a straight edge that is used for drawing straight lines and measuring lengths