as in standards
something set up as an example against which others of the same type are compared
this essay will be the yardstick by which I grade the others
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Recent Examples of yardsticks
It is flanked on all sides by footlong rulers (emblazoned, like the yardsticks, with an assortment of penitent phrases including YES, SISTER and NO, SISTER) marking the hours.
—
Alex Jovanovich, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
The gauge is based on short interest, margin debt, sentiment surveys and several other yardsticks used to gauge what investors are thinking and doing.
—Jeff Cox, CNBC, 17 Nov. 2025
In the matter of handmade placards—Magic Marker on cardboard, duct-taped to wooden yardsticks—there was a certain amount of politico-literary one-upmanship.
—Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
These are demographic, livability and financial yardsticks in which California sits amongst the top 10 states.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 12 Sep. 2025
The machine learning field is moving fast, and the yardsticks used measure progress in it are having to race to keep up.
—Dina Genkina, IEEE Spectrum, 10 Sep. 2025
Traditional yardsticks like revenue and profit matter less than the company’s ETH stash.
—Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Alex Jovanovich, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
The gauge is based on short interest, margin debt, sentiment surveys and several other yardsticks used to gauge what investors are thinking and doing.
—Jeff Cox, CNBC, 17 Nov. 2025
In the matter of handmade placards—Magic Marker on cardboard, duct-taped to wooden yardsticks—there was a certain amount of politico-literary one-upmanship.
—Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
These are demographic, livability and financial yardsticks in which California sits amongst the top 10 states.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 12 Sep. 2025
The machine learning field is moving fast, and the yardsticks used measure progress in it are having to race to keep up.
—Dina Genkina, IEEE Spectrum, 10 Sep. 2025
Traditional yardsticks like revenue and profit matter less than the company’s ETH stash.
—Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for yardsticks
Noun
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Capping those rates could backfire, resulting in significantly stricter lending standards and making credit unavailable to lower-income people or those with lower credit scores.—
Luciana Lopez,
CNN Money,
10 Jan. 2026
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Beyond money, other issues expected to be hammered out in CBA talks include the length of the season, facility and travel standards, retirement benefits and changes to rookie deals.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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It was later determined, however, that the case did not meet authorities' acceptance criteria at the time.—
Nicholas Rice,
PEOPLE,
10 Jan. 2026
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Prosecutors said last weekend that the legal criteria to detain the bar's owners had so far not been met.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Publish benchmarks, timelines, and consequences.—
Tharo Khun,
Sourcing Journal,
8 Jan. 2026
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Engagement without benchmarks can become a reward for inertia.—
Ricardo Torres,
Time,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The six nominees were selected from among the 25 most popular podcasts deemed eligible and include both audio-only and video podcasts, based on Luminate listener metrics.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
12 Jan. 2026
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Petch suggests looking beyond the usual metrics, such as inflation rates and the Federal Reserve policy.—
Sharon Wu,
CBS News,
12 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Yardsticks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/yardsticks. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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