ruler
/ˈɹuː.lə//ˈɹuːlə/
ruler noun: a (usually rigid), flat, rectangular measuring or drawing device with graduations in units of measurement; a straightedge with markings.

Noun
ruler (plural rulers)
- A (usually rigid), flat, rectangular measuring or drawing device with graduations in units of measurement; a straightedge with markings.
- Take this ruler. […] I want you to measure the glass of the lamp.1914, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados
- Synonyms:
- rule
- A person who rules or governs; someone or something that exercises dominion or controlling power over others.
- The carcharhinids are unquestionably the rulers of the seas, because of their abundance, their strength and speed, and their unchallenged position as the number one predators in the marine ecosystem.1983, Richard Ellis, The Book of Sharks, Knopf, →ISBN, page 122
- LIKE THE MANDARINS of old, the rulers of China live behind high walls. When they emerge, which they rarely do, they travel in cars with rear windows curtained like sedan chairs.
They live in the Chung Nan Hai, a walled park adjacent to the Forbidden City from where ancient dynasties ruled the...1991, Chris Mullin, The Year of the Fire Monkey (Fiction), London: Chatto & Windus, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 252
Verb
ruler (third-person singular simple present rulers, present participle rulering, simple past and past participle rulered)
- To beat with a ruler (as a traditional school punishment).
ruler meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
ruler in Hindi
- measuring or drawing device
- पैमाना paimānā, रूलर rūlar
- person who rules or governs
- शासक śāsak, हाकिम hākim, हुक्मरान hukmarān
ruler in Tamil
- ஆட்சியாளர், அளவு கோல்
ruler in Marathi
- measuring or drawing device
- मोजपट्टी mojpaṭṭī, पट्टी paṭṭī
- person who rules or governs
- शासक śāsak, सत्ताधारी sattādhārī
ruler in Urdu
- measuring or drawing device
- مِسْطَر mistar, رُولَر rūlar, پَیمانَہ paimāna
- person who rules or governs
- حاکِم hākim, حُکْمَران hukmarān, والی vālī
More languagesFewer languages
- ruler in Bengali
- মাপনী mapni, শাসক śaśok
- ruler in Telugu
- అధికారి adhikāri
- ruler in Malayalam
- ആളി āḷi, അധികാരി adhikāri
- ruler in Kannada
- ಅಳತೆ ಪಟ್ಟಿ aḷate paṭṭi
- ruler in Punjabi
- راج rāj, سرکار sarkār
- ruler in Gujarati
- ફૂટપટ્ટી phūṭpaṭṭī, માપપટ્ટી māppaṭṭī, સરકાર sarkār
- ruler in Odia
- ଶାସକ
- ruler in Sanskrit
- अधिप adhipa, शासक śāsaka
- ruler in Nepali
- नाप nāp, स्केल skel
- ruler in Pashto
- ختکه xataka, خط کښ xat kax̌, حاکم hākem
- ruler in Tagalog
- galod, naghahari
- ruler in Arabic
- مِسْطَرَة misṭara, حَاكِم ḥākim
- ruler in Malay
- pembaris, penguasa, pemerintah
- ruler in Indonesian
- penggaris, mistar, penguasa
- ruler in Persian
- فرمانروا farmānravā
- ruler in Thai
- ไม้บรรทัด mái-ban-tát, ผู้ว่าการ pûu-am-nuai-gaan
- ruler in Vietnamese
- thước kẻ, thước, người thống trị
- ruler in Myanmar
- မျည်းတံ myany:tam, အုပ်ချုပ်သောသူ uphkyupsau:su
Examples of ruler in a sentence
- And Ira also the Jairite was a chief ruler about David.
- She didn't have a ruler, so she drew a squiggly line to highlight the main points.
- Nemanja became an isapostolic ruler and was then able to introduce Christianity into his country.
Synonyms of ruler
Forms of ruler
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | rulers |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | rulers |
| present participle | rulering |
| past participle | rulered |
| past | rulered |
Origin of ruler
From Middle English reuler; equivalent to rule + -er.
Words formed from ruler
Words that rhyme with ruler
Questions about ruler
- What does ruler mean?
- Ruler means a (usually rigid), flat, rectangular measuring or drawing device with graduations in units of measurement; a straightedge with markings.
- What is ruler in Hindi?
- Ruler in Hindi is पैमाना (paimānā), रूलर (rūlar), शासक (śāsak). See Ruler meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is ruler?
- Ruler can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce ruler?
- Ruler is pronounced /ˈɹuːlə/ (UK).
- What is the plural of ruler?
- The plural of ruler is rulers.
Words near ruler in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: ruler (page history and authors); ruler (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); അധികാരി (Malayalam) (page history and authors); راج (Punjabi) (page history and authors); ફૂટપટ્ટી (Gujarati) (page history and authors); ruler (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-ruler-device.ogg, En-us-ruler.ogg.
Cite this entry: “ruler.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ruler. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
