SINCE 1828
ground rule
nounDefinition of ground rule
1
: a sports rule adopted to modify play on a particular field, court, or course
2
: a rule of procedure
ground rules for selecting a superintendent — Amer. School Board Jour.
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Examples of ground rule in a Sentence
before the debate begins, let's lay out some ground rules
Recent Examples on the Web
Safety for everyone is first and foremost for Nobles, so there are some ground rules. — Dana Mcmahan, The Courier-Journal, "This Louisville bar is combining two of your favorite things: dogs and beer," 22 July 2019 Before the boxes get unpacked, Arnett suggests sitting down and clearly discussing ground rules. — Jennifer Breheny Wallace, Washington Post, "When kids grow up: How to support adult children without hovering," 27 Aug. 2019 Expectations are communicated, ground rules are discussed and introductions are made. — Ross Dellenger, SI.com, "Behind the Scenes as SEC Refs Get a Unique Primer at Georgia Camp," 22 Aug. 2019 If ground rules and other issues can be worked out in the next week or two, Chinese officials could come to Washington for face-to-face discussions. — Maureen Groppe, USA TODAY, "'No recession in sight' says Trump's top economic adviser," 18 Aug. 2019 Before getting to the grades, let’s make one ground rule. — Chad Finn, BostonGlobe.com, "Sean McDonough tops cast of rotating Red Sox announcers," 27 June 2019 But first, a quick review of the ground rules that your campaigns agreed to earlier this month to try to ensure a fair debate. — NBC News, "Democratic debate transcript: July 31, 2019," 1 Aug. 2019 Losing bidders can challenge a decision to the Government Accountability Office or in the Court of Federal Claims, contending that the ground rules set in a solicitation weren’t followed. — Jennifer Jacobs, Fortune, "Trump Says He’s Getting Complaints That the Pentagon’s Cloud Contract Competition Favors Amazon," 18 July 2019 Policy’s supposed to create the guardrails and the ground rules. — Eric Johnson, Vox, "Mayor Pete Buttigieg talks about systemic racism, regulating tech, and the divided Democratic Party on Recode Decode," 15 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ground rule.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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