- rule
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 what you can or cannot do, say, etc.ADJECTIVE▪ basic, cardinal, first, fundamental, golden▪ ground rules▪
You and your room-mates should establish some ground rules.
▪ general▪ special▪ formal, official, written▪ informal, unspoken, unwritten▪ old, traditional▪the traditional rules of grammar
▪ current, existing▪ proposed▪ new▪ rigid, strict, stringent▪ absolute, hard and fast▪There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to choosing a typeface.
▪ clear▪ simple▪Follow these few simple rules, and you won't go far wrong.
▪ arbitrary▪ petty (esp. BrE)▪He made his children's lives a misery with all his petty rules.
▪ club, company, competition, house, school, union, etc.▪ federal, global, international▪federal rules on campaign fund-raising
▪ cultural, ethical, legal, moral, social▪ accounting, disciplinary, immigration, privacy (esp. AmE), safety, tax▪ grammar, grammatical… OF RULES▪ set▪The aim is to get each member country to adhere to a single set of rules.
VERB + RULE▪ create, develop, draw up, establish, formulate, impose, issue, lay down, make, set out, write▪The rules were drawn up to make it fair for everyone.
▪You don't make the rules, you know.
▪ abide by, accept, adhere to, follow, go by, obey, observe, play by, stick to▪If he wanted a loan he would have to play by the bank's rules.
▪ be in line with, conform to▪The packaging does not conform to EU rules.
▪ have▪The sport has strict rules for player safety.
▪ be in breach of, break, disregard, fall foul of (BrE), flout, ignore, violate▪Their action was in breach of Stock Exchange rules.
▪ apply, enforce▪The referee applied the rules to the letter (= very strictly).
▪ adopt, use▪ bend, relax▪Couldn't they just bend the rules and let us in without a ticket?
▪ waive▪ tighten up▪The rules on claiming have been tightened up.
▪ change, rewrite▪The Internet has changed the rules of business.
▪The rules of dating have had to be rewritten, thanks to the movies.
▪ be bound by, be governed by▪Employees are bound by rules of confidentiality.
▪ know, learn, remember▪You should know the rules by now.
▪ read▪ explain▪ interpret, understand▪The punishment depends on how the umpire interprets the rules.
RULE + VERB▪ apply, be applicable, operate▪ come into effect, come into force▪New accounting rules come into force next year.
▪ dictate sth, provide sth (formal), require sth, say sth, state sth, stipulate sth▪The competition rules provide that a cash alternative may be given.
▪ govern sth▪the rules governing the importing of livestock
▪ allow sth, allow for sth, permit sth▪The existing rules allow for some flexibility.
▪ forbid sth, prevent sth, prohibit sth▪ limit sth, restrict sth▪rules limiting imports
▪ change▪The rules keep changing.
RULE + NOUN▪ book▪The officials went strictly by the rule book.
▪ change▪Several proposed rule changes have been announced.
PREPOSITION▪ according to the rules▪According to the rules, no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.
▪ against the rules, contrary to the rules▪Tackling a player without the ball is against the rules.
▪ in accordance with the rules▪The music was turned off at midnight, in accordance with the rules.
▪ outside the rules▪conduct which is outside the rules
▪ under a/the rule▪Under this rule, only full members of the club are entitled to vote.
▪ within the rules▪I believed I was acting within the rules.
▪ rule about, rule concerning, rule on, rule regarding, rule relating to▪What are the school rules about dress?
▪ rule for▪There seems to be one rule for the rich and another for the poor.
▪What is the rule for forming plurals?
▪ rule of▪the rules of the game
PHRASES▪ a breach of the rules, a violation of the rules▪ a body of rules, a code of rules, a system of rules▪ respect for the rules▪ rules and regulations▪ rule of thumb (= a practical method of doing or measuring sth)2 what is usualADJECTIVE▪ general▪There are few exceptions to the general rule that bars close at midnight.
PREPOSITION▪ as a rule▪As a rule, hardly anybody uses this road.
PHRASES▪ be the rule▪Among her friends, casual dress and a relaxed manner are the rule.
3 governmentADJECTIVE▪ authoritarian, harsh▪ direct, indirect▪ emergency▪The president imposed emergency rule following the riots.
▪ majority▪ one-party▪ Communist, Labour, Republican, etc.▪ colonial, imperial▪ home▪ civilian, military▪ presidential▪ constitutional, democratic▪ mob▪the lawless days of mob rule
VERB + RULE▪ imposePREPOSITION▪ under … rule▪The country remained under direct rule by the occupying powers.
PHRASES▪ the rule of law▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}a society based on the rule of law
verbADVERB▪ justlyPREPOSITION▪ by▪the president's powers to rule by decree
▪ over▪He left his son to rule over Saragossa.
PHRASES▪ rule supreme▪ rule with an iron fist, rule with an iron hand, rule with a rod of iron (esp. BrE) (= control a person or group of people very severely)PHRASAL VERBrule sth outADVERB▪ altogether, categorically, completely, definitely (esp. BrE), entirely, totally▪This theory cannot be ruled out altogether.
▪ virtually (esp. BrE)▪ effectively▪His age effectively ruled him out as a possible candidate.
▪ apparently▪ automatically▪Infringement of this regulation would automatically rule you out of the championship.
▪ immediately▪ previously (esp. BrE)VERB + RULE OUT▪ cannot, refuse to▪We cannot rule out the possibility of a recession.
PREPOSITION▪ as▪Police have now ruled her out as the killer.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
