: an official or authoritative decision, decree, statement, or interpretation (as by a judge on a point of law)
1
a
: exerting power or authority
the ruling party
b
: chief, predominating
a ruling passion
2
: generally prevailing
Synonyms
Examples of ruling in a Sentence
Noun
The decision overturns the Supreme Court's earlier ruling.
She disputed the referee's ruling.
Adjective
members of the ruling class
the ruling opinion on premarital sex
Recent Examples on the Web
Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 13 Sep. 2023
The state immediately appealed the ruling, which is now on hold.
—Frances Stead Sellers, Anchorage Daily News, 13 Sep. 2023
The Biden administration is expected to appeal Wednesday's ruling and the case is likely to reach the Supreme Court.
—Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 13 Sep. 2023
The ruling applied to 25 requests from 19 parties, including a number of other media outlets.
—Jamie Landers The Dallas Morning News (tns), Arkansas Online, 12 Sep. 2023
Central to the ruling was that Google only allowed users to view snippets of text without providing the full book.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Sep. 2023
In all of those rulings, the court’s conservative Republican appointees were in the majority while its three liberal Democratic appointees dissented.
—David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2023
Mehta isn’t expected to issue a ruling until early next year.
—Michael Liedtke, Fortune, 11 Sep. 2023
The ruling in the Google case could have a momentous effect, not just in shaping the way that these new technologies will be deployed and commercialized but also in giving Google’s competitors, new and old, a chance to command a larger share of the market.
—Sheelah Kolhatkar, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023
Kirsty Hatcher, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2023
Congress spent a lot of time asking him about affiliations with the Chinese Communist Party — China’s sole ruling political party.
—Alex Cranz, The Verge, 24 Mar. 2023
The Chinese armed forces are unique in that they are led by the ruling political party, rather than its members swearing an oath to defend the country or a constitution.
—Lawrence Richard, Fox News, 10 Mar. 2023
Queen Margrethe became the longest-serving European sovereign and the only ruling female monarch following the death of her third cousin Queen Elizabeth II in September.
—Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 22 Feb. 2023
The Maasai of Loliondo contacted leaders and N.G.O.s from five districts with significant Maasai populations, mobilizing close to two hundred thousand citizens who threatened to abandon the ruling political party.
—Manvir Singh, The New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2023
Parliament voted 214 to 148 against starting impeachment proceedings on Tuesday, with Mr. Ramaphosa getting support from almost all lawmakers in the ruling African National Congress party, which holds a majority of seats.
—Andrew Meldrum, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Dec. 2022
Parliament voted 214 to 148 against starting impeachment proceedings on Tuesday, with Ramaphosa getting support from almost all lawmakers in the ruling African National Congress party, which holds a majority of seats.
—Andrew Meldrum, ajc, 15 Dec. 2022
As President Cyril Ramaphosa campaigns for re-election at the ruling African National Congress’s conference in December, even the party’s traditional allies have seized on the cost of fuel as a failure of political leadership.
—New York Times, 2 July 2022
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Noun
Sign up In 2018, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 effectively compelled all unions that represent government workers to operate on a right-to-work basis.
—Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 13 Sep. 2023
The state immediately appealed the ruling, which is now on hold.
—Frances Stead Sellers, Anchorage Daily News, 13 Sep. 2023
The Biden administration is expected to appeal Wednesday's ruling and the case is likely to reach the Supreme Court.
—Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 13 Sep. 2023
The ruling applied to 25 requests from 19 parties, including a number of other media outlets.
—Jamie Landers The Dallas Morning News (tns), Arkansas Online, 12 Sep. 2023
Central to the ruling was that Google only allowed users to view snippets of text without providing the full book.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Sep. 2023
In all of those rulings, the court’s conservative Republican appointees were in the majority while its three liberal Democratic appointees dissented.
—David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2023
Mehta isn’t expected to issue a ruling until early next year.
—Michael Liedtke, Fortune, 11 Sep. 2023
The ruling in the Google case could have a momentous effect, not just in shaping the way that these new technologies will be deployed and commercialized but also in giving Google’s competitors, new and old, a chance to command a larger share of the market.
—Sheelah Kolhatkar, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023
Adjective
The royal became the longest-serving European sovereign and the only ruling female monarch in Europe following the death of her third cousin, Queen Elizabeth II, in September at the age of 96.
—Kirsty Hatcher, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2023
Congress spent a lot of time asking him about affiliations with the Chinese Communist Party — China’s sole ruling political party.
—Alex Cranz, The Verge, 24 Mar. 2023
The Chinese armed forces are unique in that they are led by the ruling political party, rather than its members swearing an oath to defend the country or a constitution.
—Lawrence Richard, Fox News, 10 Mar. 2023
Queen Margrethe became the longest-serving European sovereign and the only ruling female monarch following the death of her third cousin Queen Elizabeth II in September.
—Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 22 Feb. 2023
The Maasai of Loliondo contacted leaders and N.G.O.s from five districts with significant Maasai populations, mobilizing close to two hundred thousand citizens who threatened to abandon the ruling political party.
—Manvir Singh, The New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2023
Parliament voted 214 to 148 against starting impeachment proceedings on Tuesday, with Mr. Ramaphosa getting support from almost all lawmakers in the ruling African National Congress party, which holds a majority of seats.
—Andrew Meldrum, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Dec. 2022
Parliament voted 214 to 148 against starting impeachment proceedings on Tuesday, with Ramaphosa getting support from almost all lawmakers in the ruling African National Congress party, which holds a majority of seats.
—Andrew Meldrum, ajc, 15 Dec. 2022
As President Cyril Ramaphosa campaigns for re-election at the ruling African National Congress’s conference in December, even the party’s traditional allies have seized on the cost of fuel as a failure of political leadership.
—New York Times, 2 July 2022
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ruling.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Phrases Containing ruling
Dictionary Entries Near ruling
Cite this Entry
“Ruling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ruling. Accessed 23 Sep. 2023.
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Kids Definition
ruling
noun
rul·ing
ˈrü-liŋ
: an official decision (as by a judge)
Legal Definition
ruling
noun
rul·ing
: an official or authoritative determination, decree, statement, or interpretation (as by a judge on a question of law)
followed a previous ruling on the same question
see also revenue ruling compare decision, disposition, finding, holding, judgment, opinion, verdict
More from Merriam-Webster on ruling
Nglish: Translation of ruling for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of ruling for Arabic Speakers
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