Word.ws English Dictionary

rules

UK/ˈɹuːlz//ˈɹulz/

rules is the plural of rule.

rules is the third-person singular simple present indicative of rule.

Meaning of rule

Noun

rule (countable and uncountable, plural rules)

  1. A regulation, law, guideline.
    • All participants must adhere to the rules.
  2. A regulating principle.
    • There's little can be said in 't; 'Tis against the rule of nature.c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
  3. (uncountable) The act of ruling; administration of law; government; empire; authority; control.
    • Obey them that have the rule over you.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Hebrews 13:17
  4. A normal condition or state of affairs.
    • My rule is to rise at six o'clock.
  5. (obsolete) Conduct; behaviour.
    • This uncivil rule; she shall know of it.c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
  6. An order regulating the practice of the courts, or an order made between parties to an action or a suit.

See all 20 meanings of rule

Proper noun capitalized: Rules

Rules

  1. (plural) plural of Rule

Noun capitalized: Rules

Rules (uncountable)

  1. (informal) Australian rules football.

Words formed from rules

Phrases with rules

111 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with rules

1 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about rules

What does rules mean?
Rules means australian rules football.
What is rules the plural of?
Rules is the plural of rule.
What part of speech is rules?
Rules can be a proper noun or a noun.
How do you pronounce rules?
Rules is pronounced /ˈɹuːlz/ (UK).

Words near rules in the dictionary

  1. rulerings
  2. rulerless
  3. rulers
  4. rulership
  5. rulerships
  6. rules
  7. rules against perpetuities
  8. rules and regulations
  9. rules are made to be broken
  10. rules are meant to be broken
  11. rules are rules

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: rules (page history and authors); Rules (page history and authors); rule (page history and authors). 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-us-rules.ogg.

Cite this entry: “rules.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/rules. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.