moral compass

noun

plural moral compasses

: a set of beliefs or values that help guide ethical decisions, judgments, and behavior : an internal sense of right and wrong

Mr. Mandela was unique. How often in a generation does a giant walk among us, with brilliance and courage, guided by an immaculate moral compass?

—Tayari Jones

There are common causes for lapses in ethical judgment that can include ego, power, greed, fear, compulsion, embarrassment, rationalization, or basic lack of a moral compass.

—Kevin Woodhouse

Women who work hard to make businesses and communities better and help set our moral compasses with their actions are my heroes.

—Edie Boan

also : someone or something that serves as a standard for guiding moral choices, judgments, or behavior

Here was the lead character, the show's moral compass, played by its best-known actor—and this is what happens to him?

—Kristi Turnquist

In his role as manager of Changes Group Home in New London, Henderson serves as a moral compass for young men who need direction.

—Tim Frogerg

Examples of moral compass in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Black and his co-writers soften the cold mercenary side of Parker by giving him something of a moral compass, which prompts him to toss $10,000 to the stranger’s wife before fleeing the scene. —David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2025

Bill Gates is calling on Washington, D.C., to examine its moral compass on foreign aid, and renew its spending pledges to poorer nations. —Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 24 Sep. 2025

The ethics guardian This moral compass calibrator protects corporate values amid rapid workplace advancements. —Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025

For millennia, trees have stood as emblems of the profound interconnectedness of all living things, central to the universe’s structural integrity and humanity’s moral compass. —Ellen Walker, JSTOR Daily, 3 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1814, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for moral compass

• encompass
• rumpus

Kids Definition

moral compass

noun

: a set of beliefs or values that help guide ethical decisions, judgments, and behavior : an internal sense of right and wrong