Definition of yardstick
1a : a graduated measuring stick three feet (0.9144 meter) longb : a standard basis of calculation a yardstick for measuring astronomical distances
2 : a standard for making a critical judgment : criterion measured by the yardstick of her first book was a great success by any yardstick
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Examples of yardstick in a Sentence
Some feel that test scores aren't an adequate yardstick for judging a student's ability.
Ratings are the yardstick by which TV shows are evaluated by networks.
Recent Examples of yardstick from the Web
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The College Board rapped Scripps Ranch’s knuckles with 8-foot yardsticks. •
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The measure largely uses people’s incomes as the yardstick for helping those without workplace coverage to buy private insurance.
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The measure largely uses people's incomes as the yardstick for helping those without workplace coverage to buy private insurance.
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By averaging the scoring in the previous four yardsticks of consistency, my spreadsheet says California gets a middle-of-the-pack 26th ranking, sandwiched between Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
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The argument for a complete-market-cycle yardstick was made by Ryan Leggio and Steven Romick of FPA Funds, a Los Angeles fund manager, in an article in the Fall 2015 issue of the Journal of Portfolio Management.
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Many investors don’t look at how funds performed during the complete cycle of a bull and bear market, instead relying on typical industry yardsticks such as one-, three- and five-year returns.
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Another yardstick: Animal Services euthanized 274 pets from Jan. 1 through April 30, compared with 366 for the same period of 2016 and 394 through April 30, 2015, according to figures provided by department spokeswoman Erica Coghill.
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At the other end of the experience yardstick from Dansby are 11 former Auburn players who are on current NFL rosters, but who have never appeared in an NFL regular-season game.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'yardstick.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of yardstick
1610
Synonym Discussion of yardstick
YARDSTICK Defined for English Language Learners
yardstick
playDefinition of yardstick for English Language Learners
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: a long, flat tool that is one yard long and is used to measure things
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: a rule or specific idea about what is acceptable or desirable that is used to judge or measure something
YARDSTICK Defined for Kids
yardstick
playDefinition of yardstick for Students
1 : a measuring stick a yard long
2 : a rule or standard by which something is measured or judged His story by any yardstick was dull.
Learn More about yardstick
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See words that rhyme with yardstick Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for yardstick Spanish Central: Translation of yardstick Nglish: Translation of yardstick for Spanish speakers
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