Meanings
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1
noun
An instruction that says what you are or are not allowed to do.
All players must follow the rules of the game.
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2
noun
The period during which a king, queen, or government holds power.
The country prospered during her rule.
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3
verb
To have official power over a country or its people.
The emperor ruled the empire for forty years.
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4
verb
To make an official decision, especially in court.
The judge ruled that the company had broken the law.
Thesaurus
Common collocations
Etymology
From Middle English reule, rewle, rule, borrowed from Old French riule, reule, from Latin regula (“straight stick, bar, ruler, pattern”), from regō (“to keep straight, direct, govern, rule”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃réǵeti (“to straighten; right”), from the root *h₃reǵ-; see regent. Doublet of rail, regal, regula, and rigol.