Thesaurus results for GROUND RULES

ground rules

noun

plural of ground rule

as in rules

a statement spelling out the proper procedure or conduct for an activity before the debate begins, let's lay out some ground rules

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of ground rules The White House and its allies are lonely in their insistence that AI development in America must accelerate without governments setting ground rules. — Ashley Gold, semafor.com, 25 Sep. 2026 The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, did not elaborate. — ABC News, 18 Sep. 2026 Capital investment aside, even fundamental ground rules collapse under strain, Archer said. — Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 16 Sep. 2026 Representatives of Bonta and Paramount Skydance came together late last week to set ground rules for Monday’s meeting, which was to involve Paramount Skydance Chief Executive David Ellison. — Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026 Resident Nancy Clifton-Hawkins was an amazing moderator who quickly laid out the goals and ground rules. — Terri Daxon, Oc Register, 20 Aug. 2026 Consider the 2012 General Agreement in Colombia, which established guidelines for future negotiations, an agenda, and ground rules that gave the talks structure and stability. — Matt Waldman, Foreign Affairs, 13 Aug. 2026 To control the dangerous unfettered use of magic, an oversight council established ground rules on what is considered forbidden magic and the knowledge of its existence. — Kalai Chik, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026 New York state set a one-year pause on building AI data centers to establish some ground rules. — Yasmin Vossoughian, NBC news, 23 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ground rules

Noun

Conflict-of-interest rules may bar some workers and their families from holding certain stocks; the Treasury has moved to ban ESG funds from accounts, but there’s no way for people to keep certain stocks out of their kids’ accounts.

— Diane Brady, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
House Democrats are considering rules changes to mandate dues payments to serve on committees like Appropriations and Financial Services.

— Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of rules

Noun

There’s too often little reporting on roller-coaster incidents, in part because rules and regulations can vary by state, and also because most infractions are deemed relatively minor and quickly handled in-house by the various parks.

— Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
But delivering on that promise remains complicated, as businesses still have to juggle banks, payment providers, and a patchwork of regulations.

— Camila Grigera Naón, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of regulations

Noun

Some voting laws have changed in Ohio since 2022, including the state eliminating its grace period for receiving mail ballots, a change that forces voters to return those ballots earlier.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026
Different views on the topic The Justice Department says its actions are intended to enforce federal voting laws and protect citizens’ ballots from dilution.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of laws

Noun

For every transaction, the platform passed the customer’s exact location, tax codes and specific pricing details to Avalara, which returned the correct tax treatment for the invoice.

— Kashif Saleem, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026
The European nation later passed legislation mandating tracking codes on political social media messaging.

— ABC News, ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of codes

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ground rule

ground rules

grounds

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“Ground rules.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ground%20rules. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of ground rules

noun

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