yardstick

noun yard·stick \ ˈyärd-ˌstik \

|Updated on: 25 Jul 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: yardstick in a Sentence

Definition of yardstick

1 a : a graduated measuring stick three feet (0.9144 meter) long

b : 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

See yardstick defined for English-language learners

See yardstick defined for kids

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

Brent, the global price yardstick, is close to $80 a barrel.

— benoit faucon, WSJ, "To Head Off Rising Crude Prices, It May Take More Than Calls for More Oil," 1 July 2018
Astronomers also use light emitted by supernovas as a sort of cosmic yardstick to understand how quickly the universe is expanding.

— NBC News, "5 ways the world's fastest supercomputer could change the world," 18 June 2018
Adams defeated a state legislator in her Democratic primary and will likely be looked upon as a yardstick to see how well African-American women can do in the Deep South.

— phillip m. bailey, The Courier-Journal, "Gov. Attica Scott? Louisville Democrat 'seriously considering' 2019 run," 5 July 2018
The third yardstick is whether American firms underperform other multinationals and local firms.

— The Economist, "America Inc and the rage against Beijing," 28 June 2018
Impact factors—which represent the number of citations to a journal's articles divided by the number of articles published during a 2-year period—are widely used in academe as a yardstick of a journal’s prestige and reach.

— matt warren, Science | AAAS, "Firm that tallies controversial journal impact scores moves to provide more context," 27 June 2018
So data-handling speeds in software applications often become more important than raw calculating speed, which has been the traditional yardstick of supercomputer performance.

— steve lohr, The Seattle Times, "China extends its lead as most prolific supercomputer maker," 25 June 2018
The new yardstick is the latest in a long line of attempts to measure inflation better, among them the Billion Prices Project at MIT and Harvard and Adobe Systems Inc.’s Digital Price Index.

— Bloomberg.com, "The Consumer Price Index May Be Getting Inflation Wrong," 2 May 2018
Conferences such as this can also act as a competitive yardstick to show how firms are progressing on developing technologies.

— hayley tsukayama, latimes.com, "Apple WWDC 2018: Siri, health and augmented reality are expected topics," 4 June 2018

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

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

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yardstick Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of yardstick

standard, criterion, gauge, yardstick, touchstone mean a means of determining what a thing should be. standard applies to any definite rule, principle, or measure established by authority.

- standards of behavior

criterion may apply to anything used as a test of quality whether formulated as a rule or principle or not.

- questioned the critic's criteria for excellence

gauge applies to a means of testing a particular dimension (such as thickness, depth, diameter) or figuratively a particular quality or aspect.

- polls as a gauge of voter dissatisfaction

yardstick is an informal substitute for criterion that suggests quantity more often than quality.

- housing construction as a yardstick of economic growth

touchstone suggests a simple test of the authenticity or value of something intangible.

- fine service is one touchstone of a first-class restaurant

YARDSTICK Defined for English Language Learners

yardstick

noun

Definition of yardstick for English Language Learners

: a long, flat tool that is one yard long and is used to measure things
: a rule or specific idea about what is acceptable or desirable that is used to judge or measure something