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Definition of norm noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

norm

noun
 
/nɔːm/
 
/nɔːrm/
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  1. (often the norm)
    [singular] a situation or a pattern of behaviour that is usual or expected synonym rule (4)
    • The new design is a departure from the norm.
    • Older parents seem to be the norm rather than the exception nowadays.
    Extra Examples
    • In the inner-city areas, poverty is the norm rather than the exception.
    • On-screen editing has become the norm for all student work.
    • Small families are the norm nowadays.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • accepted
    • established
    • ethical
    verb + norm
    • be
    • become
    • conform to
    preposition
    • above the norm
    • below the norm
    • over the norm
    phrases
    • a departure from the norm
    • a deviation from the norm
    • an exception to the norm
    See full entry
  2. norms
    [plural] standards of behaviour that are typical of or accepted within a particular group or society
    • social/cultural norms
    • She considered people to be products of the values and norms of the society they lived in.
    • accepted norms of behaviour
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • accepted
    • established
    • ethical
    verb + norm
    • be
    • become
    • conform to
    preposition
    • above the norm
    • below the norm
    • over the norm
    phrases
    • a departure from the norm
    • a deviation from the norm
    • an exception to the norm
    See full entry
  3. [countable] a required or agreed standard, amount, etc.
    • detailed education norms for children of particular ages
    • The government claims that background radioactivity is well below international norms.
    Extra Examples
    • There is a comparison of each child with the age norms.
    • The revised norms are based on test scores of 2 050 children aged between five and ten.
    • Public examination systems set up a norm, on which each student is judged.
    • They want to discourage pay settlements over the norm.
    • accepted norms of international law
  4. Word Originearly 19th cent.: from Latin norma ‘precept, rule, carpenter's square’.
See norm in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee norm in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

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