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Definition of rule verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

rule

verb
 
 
/ruːl/
 
/ruːl/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they rule
 
/ruːl/
 
/ruːl/
he / she / it rules
 
/ruːlz/
 
/ruːlz/
past simple ruled
 
/ruːld/
 
/ruːld/
past participle ruled
 
/ruːld/
 
/ruːld/
-ing form ruling
 
/ˈruːlɪŋ/
 
/ˈruːlɪŋ/
Idioms Phrasal Verbs
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    govern/control

  1.  
     [transitive, intransitive] to control and have authority over a country, a group of people, etc.
    • rule (something) At that time, King John ruled England.
    • The city was ruled by rich and powerful nobles.
    • The film is set in an imagined future in which machines rule the world.
    • (figurative) Eighty million years ago, dinosaurs ruled the earth.
    • Charles I ruled for eleven years.
    • (figurative) After the revolution, anarchy ruled.
    • rule over somebody/something She once ruled over a vast empire.
    Extra Examples
    • the president's powers to rule by decree
    • The country was ruled by a brutal dictatorship.
    • The family ruled London's gangland in the sixties.
    Topics Politicsb1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • justly
    preposition
    • by
    • over
    phrases
    • rule supreme
    • rule with an iron fist
    • rule with an iron hand
    • …
    adverb
    • altogether
    • categorically
    • completely
    • …
    verb + rule out
    • cannot
    • refuse to
    preposition
    • as
    See full entry
  2.  
     [transitive, often passive] rule something (often disapproving) to be the main thing that influences and controls somebody/something
    • The pursuit of money ruled his life.
    • We live in a society where we are ruled by the clock.
    • Her whole life seemed to be ruled by fear.
    3.

    give official decision

  3. [intransitive, transitive] to give an official decision about something synonym pronounce
    • rule on something The court will rule on the legality of the action.
    • rule against/in favour of somebody/something The judge ruled against/in favour of the plaintiff.
    • rule somebody/something + adj. The deal may be ruled illegal.
    • rule somebody/something to be/have something The deal was ruled to be illegal.
    • rule that… The court ruled that the women were unfairly dismissed.
    • it is ruled that… It was ruled that the women had been unfairly dismissed.
    Topics Preferences and decisionsc1, Law and justicec1

    4. draw straight line

  4. [transitive] rule something to draw a straight line using something that has a hard straight edge
    • Rule a line at the end of every piece of work.
    5. Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French reule (noun), reuler (verb), from late Latin regulare, from Latin regula ‘straight stick’.
Idioms
divide and rule
  1. to keep control over people by making them disagree with and fight each other, therefore not giving them the chance to join together and oppose you
    • a policy of divide and rule
    Topics Opinion and argumentc2
let your heart rule your head
  1. to act according to what you feel rather than to what you think is sensible
rule/throw something out of court
  1. to say that something is completely wrong or not worth considering, especially in a trial
    • The charges were thrown out of court.
    • Well that's my theory ruled out of court.
rule the roost
  1. (informal) to be the most powerful member of a group
    • Liverpool ruled the roost in English football for a decade.
rule (somebody/something) with a rod of iron
  1. to control a person or a group of people very severely
See rule in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee rule in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: rule

Nearby words

perspective
noun
 
 
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