stand|ard

stand|ard «STAN duhrd», noun, adjective.

–n.

1. anything taken as a basis of comparison; level or degree of excellence considered as a goal or as adequate; model: »

Your work is not up to the class standard. They have no general standard of taste, or scale of opinion (William Hazlitt).

2. a rule, test, or requirement; criterion: »

applying his English standards to the examination of the American system (James Bryce).

3. anything established, familiar, or common: »

That book is a standard among campers. Average-sized cars are often called standards. Most of the royalties…come from the handful of well-known songs such as “Star Dust,” known in music circles as “standards” (New York Times).

4. an authorized weight or measure by which the accuracy of all others is determined.

5. a commodity that is given a fixed value in order to serve in a monetary system as a measure of value for all other commodities, such as a metal (monometallic standard), usually gold (gold standard) or silver (silver standard), or gold and silver, in a fixed relationship (bimetallic standard).

6. the legally prescribed proportion of metal and alloy to be used in coins.

7. the prescribed degree of fineness for gold or silver.

8. Commerce. (in commercial use) the lowest level or grade of excellence.

9. a grade or class in British elementary schools.

10. a flag, emblem, or symbol: »

The dragon was the standard of China

11. a military or naval flag of a particular kind, usually longer and more tapering than a banner and broader than a pennon.

12. the flag of a cavalry unit in the United States and Great Britain.

13. an upright support: »

The floor lamp has a long standard.

14. Horticulture. a tree, shrub, or other plant growing on an erect stem of full height, not dwarfed or trained on a wall, trellis, or espalier: »

There are bush roses, standards and climbing roses on arches and towers (New York Times).

15. a) Botany. a vexillum. b) one of the three upper petallike segments of an iris.

16. a unit of measure for lumber, equal to 16 cubic feet or 1,980 board feet.

–adj.

1. a) serving as or conforming to the prescribed weight, measure, or value: »

a standard pint or gallon, the standard unit of heat.

b) of the accepted or normal size, amount, power, or quality: »

the standard rate of pay, a standard fit.

2. serving as or fitted to serve as a standard of comparison or judgment: »

standard pitch, a standard text.

3. having recognized excellence or authority: »

a standard reference book. Dickens and Mark Twain are standard authors.

4. usual, regular, or established: »

an orchestra's standard repertoire, standard equipment for campers, the standard practice or procedure, a standard pronunciation.

5. characteristic of the speech of cultivated persons and of the language used in writing and in the conduct of public affairs, schools, courts, and churches; socially acceptable: »

standard usage, standard spelling. Standard German is the form of High German taught in German schools.

6. Printing. of the usual height, width, or weight: »

standard type.

7. a) of the lowest grade or quality: »

Canners use brand names that correspond to their best, or fancy, products; their medium, or extra-standard, grades; and their lowest, or standard, products (John T. R. Nickerson).

b) being a grade of meat not good, choice, or prime but superior to various commercial meats and cut from cattle not over four years old, with little fat and a mild flavor, but usually lacking juiciness.

╂[< Old French estandart < a Germanic word]

Synonym Study noun. 1 Standard, criterion mean something used as a means of measuring or judging a person or thing. Standard applies to any rule or model generally accepted as a basis of comparison in quality, value, quantity, or social, moral, or intellectual level: »

to set high standards for admission to college.

Criterion applies to a test or rule by which one may determine the value, excellence, or the like of something already in existence: »

Popularity by itself is not a criterion of a good motion picture.

Stand|ard «STAN duhrd», noun.

a widely used style of sans-serif printing type.