noun
Meaning 1
A measuring rod thirty-six inches (one yard) long.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
yardstick
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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Received-Pronunciation: /ˈjɑːdˌstɪk/
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General-American: yärdʹstĭkʹ
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General-American: /ˈjɑɹdˌstɪk/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -ɪk
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CMU ARPABET: Y AA1 R D S T IH2 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
A standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively
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.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: measuring rod, metewand, norm, point of reference, benchmark, ideal
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
a ruler or tape that is three feet long
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: yard measure
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: rule, ruler
noun
Meaning 4
a measure or standard used for comparison
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- on what kind of yardstick is he basing his judgment?
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: standard, criterion, measure, touchstone
History
Etymology
From yard + stick.
Across languages
Translations
44 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Cherokee: ᎠᏥᎶᏍᏗ (atsilosdi) — measuring rod thirty-six inches long
- Chinese Mandarin: 碼尺 /码尺 (mǎchǐ) — measuring rod thirty-six inches long
- Finnish: jaardin mitta — measuring rod thirty-six inches long
- Hindi: मानदंड (māndaṇḍ) — measuring rod thirty-six inches long
- Hungarian: mérőléc — measuring rod thirty-six inches long
- Hungarian: mérőrúd — measuring rod thirty-six inches long
- Irish: slat tomhais — measuring rod thirty-six inches long
- Navajo: bee ídaʼneelʼąąhí — measuring rod thirty-six inches long
- Polish: calówka — measuring rod thirty-six inches long
- Scottish Gaelic: slat-tomhais — measuring rod thirty-six inches long
- Spanish: vara — measuring rod thirty-six inches long
- Spanish: reglón — measuring rod thirty-six inches long
- Tagalog: pangyarda — measuring rod thirty-six inches long
- Bulgarian: аршин (aršin) — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Bulgarian: мащаб (maštab) — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Chinese Mandarin: 尺度 (chǐdù) — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Chinese Mandarin: 標準 /标准 (biāozhǔn) — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Danish: målestok — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Finnish: mittapuu — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Finnish: mittatikku — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- French: aune — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- French: mètre étalon — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- German: Maßstab — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Hindi: मानदंड (māndaṇḍ) — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Hungarian: etalon — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Hungarian: zsinórmérték — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Hungarian: mérce — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Hungarian: mérték — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Hungarian: fokmérő — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Italian: metro di misura — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Japanese: 判断の尺度 (handan no shakudo) — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Norwegian Bokmål: målestokk — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Persian: سنجه (sanje) — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Portuguese: parâmetro — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Portuguese: critério — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Portuguese: padrão — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Portuguese: bitola — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Russian: арши́н (aršín) — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Russian: ме́рка (mérka) — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Russian: мери́ло (merílo) — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Scottish Gaelic: slat-tomhais — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Spanish: norma — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Spanish: vara — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged
- Swedish: måttstock — standard to which other measurements or comparisons are judged