Meanings
plural yardsticks
- figurativelyA standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged.
2 more examples
2008 April 8, Michael R. Gordon and Eric Schmitt, “Attacks in Baghdad spiked in March, U.S. data show”, in International Herald Tribune, 2008 April 8 edition, “Africa & Middle East” section, Attacks against civilians in the capital remained relatively unchanged: 69 in March from 62 in February. ¶ However, another yardstick, the number of civilian deaths tracked by the Iraqi government, shot up last month after several months of decline.
The Court has taken a number of factors into consideration in performing the “balancing of interests test” while examining cases concerning limitations on the institution of paternity claims. […] The yardstick against which the above factors are measured is whether a legal presumption has been allowed to prevail over the biological and social reality and if so whether, in the circumstances, this is compatible with the obligation to secure “effective” respect for private and family life, taking into account the margin of appreciation left to the State and the established facts and the wishes of those concerned (ibid. § 55).
2017 March 10, European Court of Human Rights, Silva and Mondim Correia v. Portugal, number 72105/14 20415/15, marginal 58Synonyms: measuring rod, metewand, norm, point of reference, benchmark, ideal
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Bulgarian аршин, мащаб
- аршин (aršin)standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- мащаб (maštab)standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
Chinese Mandarin 碼尺 /码尺, 尺度
- 碼尺 /码尺 (mǎchǐ)measuring rod thirty-six inches long
- 尺度 (chǐdù)standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- 標準 /标准 (biāozhǔn)standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
Danish målestok
- målestokstandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
Finnish jaardin mitta, mittapuu
- jaardin mittameasuring rod thirty-six inches long
- mittapuustandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- mittatikkustandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
French aune, mètre étalon
- aunestandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- mètre étalonstandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
German Maßstab
- Maßstabstandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
Hindi मानदंड, मानदंड
- मानदंड (māndaṇḍ)measuring rod thirty-six inches long
- मानदंड (māndaṇḍ)standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
Hungarian mérőléc, mérőrúd
- mérőlécmeasuring rod thirty-six inches long
- mérőrúdmeasuring rod thirty-six inches long
- etalonstandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- zsinórmértékstandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- mércestandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- mértékstandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- fokmérőstandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
Irish slat tomhais
- slat tomhaismeasuring rod thirty-six inches long
Italian metro di misura
- metro di misurastandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
Japanese 判断の尺度
- 判断の尺度 (handan no shakudo)standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
Norwegian Bokmål målestokk
- målestokkstandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
Persian سنجه
- سنجه (sanje)standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
Polish calówka, standard
- calówkameasuring rod thirty-six inches long
- standardstandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- kryteriumstandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- miarastandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
Portuguese parâmetro, critério
- parâmetrostandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- critériostandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- padrãostandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- bitolastandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
Russian арши́н, ме́рка
- арши́н (aršín)standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- ме́рка (mérka)standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- мери́ло (merílo)standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
Scottish Gaelic slat-tomhais, slat-tomhais
- slat-tomhaismeasuring rod thirty-six inches long
- slat-tomhaisstandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
Spanish vara, reglón
- varameasuring rod thirty-six inches long
- reglónmeasuring rod thirty-six inches long
- normastandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- varastandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
Swedish måttstock
- måttstockstandard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
Tagalog pangyarda
- pangyardameasuring rod thirty-six inches long
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with yardstick
Cite this entry
yardstick. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yardstick
“yardstick.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yardstick. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “yardstick,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yardstick.
Source: yardstick on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.