"rule of thumb" meaning in English

See rule of thumb in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Audio: En-au-rule of thumb.ogg Forms: rules of thumb [plural]
Etymology: Attested since 1658. Of uncertain origin, but probably based on the use of the thumb as reference for various measurements. For instance, one theory notes that the inch originated as the distance between the base of the thumbnail and the first joint, another notes the practice of approximating the general direction of the wind by wetting the thumb then raising it in the air. A third theory notes that English royal banquet plate setters used the distance of their thumbs to equally space each plate from the table edge. The erroneous claim that the term referred to the maximum thickness of a stick with which it was permissible for a man to beat his wife has appeared in The Washington Post and Time; it may originate from Del Martin's 1976 book Battered Wives. Head templates: {{en-noun|rules of thumb}} rule of thumb (plural rules of thumb)
  1. A general guideline, rather than a strict rule; an approximate measure or means of reckoning based on experience or common knowledge. Synonyms: rule-of-thumb (english: in attributive usage) Translations (general guideline rather than a strict rule): قَاعِدَة عَامَّة (alt: qāʕida(t) ʕāmma) (Arabic), regla general [feminine] (Catalan), 拇指規則 (Chinese Mandarin), 拇指规则 (mǔzhǐ guīzé) [calque] (Chinese Mandarin), 概測法 (Chinese Mandarin), 概测法 (gàicèfǎ) (Chinese Mandarin), 經驗法則 (Chinese Mandarin), 经验法则 (jīngyàn fǎzé) (Chinese Mandarin), 一般規則 (Chinese Mandarin), 一般规则 (yībān guīzé) (Chinese Mandarin), tommelfingerregel [common-gender] (Danish), vuistregel [masculine] (Dutch), nyrkkisääntö (Finnish), peukalosääntö (Finnish), règle générale [feminine] (French), au doigt mouillé (French), au pif (French), Faustregel [feminine] (German), Daumenregel [feminine] (German), πρακτικός κανόνας (praktikós kanónas) [masculine] (Greek), βασικός κανόνας (vasikós kanónas) [masculine] (Greek), ökölszabály (Hungarian), þumalputtaregla [feminine] (Icelandic), a lume di naso (Italian), 大体の目安 (daitai no meyasu) (alt: だいたいのめやす) (Japanese), 目の子算 (me no kozan) (alt: めのこざん) (Japanese), општо начело (opšto načelo) [neuter] (Macedonian), tommelfingerregel [masculine] (Norwegian Bokmål), tommelfingerregel [masculine] (Norwegian Nynorsk), heurística (Portuguese), macete (Portuguese), manha (Portuguese), практи́ческое пра́вило (praktíčeskoje právilo) [neuter] (Russian), эмпири́ческий приём (empiríčeskij prijóm) [masculine] (Russian), regla general [feminine] (Spanish), tumregel [common-gender] (Swedish), pratik kural (Turkish)
    Sense id: en-rule_of_thumb-en-noun-Parf6zZY Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Terms with Greek translations, Terms with Hungarian translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 53 47 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 47 53 Disambiguation of Terms with Greek translations: 48 52 Disambiguation of Terms with Hungarian translations: 50 50 Disambiguation of 'general guideline rather than a strict rule': 98 2
  2. (attributive, usually hyphenated) Approximated, guesstimated. Tags: attributive
    Sense id: en-rule_of_thumb-en-noun-gFe9gCjZ Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Arabic translations, Terms with Catalan translations, Terms with Danish translations, Terms with Dutch translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Greek translations, Terms with Hungarian translations, Terms with Icelandic translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Japanese translations, Terms with Macedonian translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations, Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swedish translations, Terms with Turkish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 53 47 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 41 59 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 47 53 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 42 58 Disambiguation of Terms with Arabic translations: 40 60 Disambiguation of Terms with Catalan translations: 38 62 Disambiguation of Terms with Danish translations: 31 69 Disambiguation of Terms with Dutch translations: 34 66 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 38 62 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 34 66 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 33 67 Disambiguation of Terms with Greek translations: 48 52 Disambiguation of Terms with Hungarian translations: 50 50 Disambiguation of Terms with Icelandic translations: 38 62 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 33 67 Disambiguation of Terms with Japanese translations: 33 67 Disambiguation of Terms with Macedonian translations: 38 62 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 42 58 Disambiguation of Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations: 39 61 Disambiguation of Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations: 33 67 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 40 60 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 33 67 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 33 67 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 37 63 Disambiguation of Terms with Turkish translations: 37 63

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

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  "descendants": [
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "de",
            "2": "Daumenregel",
            "cal": "1"
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          "expansion": "→ German: Daumenregel (calque)",
          "name": "desc"
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      ],
      "text": "→ German: Daumenregel (calque)"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Attested since 1658. Of uncertain origin, but probably based on the use of the thumb as reference for various measurements. For instance, one theory notes that the inch originated as the distance between the base of the thumbnail and the first joint, another notes the practice of approximating the general direction of the wind by wetting the thumb then raising it in the air. A third theory notes that English royal banquet plate setters used the distance of their thumbs to equally space each plate from the table edge.\nThe erroneous claim that the term referred to the maximum thickness of a stick with which it was permissible for a man to beat his wife has appeared in The Washington Post and Time; it may originate from Del Martin's 1976 book Battered Wives.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "rules of thumb",
      "tags": [
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
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      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The usual rule of thumb says that to calculate when an investment will double, divide 70 by the interest rate.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "c. 1935, Ogden Nash, “Reflection on Ingenuity”, in Verses from 1929 On, published 1959:",
          "text": "Here's a good rule of thumb:\nToo clever is dumb.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2016, James Lambert, “Ornithonymy and Lexicographical Selection Criteria”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 30, number 1, pages 39–62:",
          "text": "Since it is impossible to second-guess what a user will want to look up, there is a general lexicographical rule of thumb to err on the side of inclusion.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A general guideline, rather than a strict rule; an approximate measure or means of reckoning based on experience or common knowledge."
      ],
      "id": "en-rule_of_thumb-en-noun-Parf6zZY",
      "links": [
        [
          "guideline",
          "guideline"
        ],
        [
          "approximate",
          "approximate"
        ],
        [
          "reckon",
          "reckon"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "english": "in attributive usage",
          "word": "rule-of-thumb"
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      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "alt": "qāʕida(t) ʕāmma",
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "word": "قَاعِدَة عَامَّة"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "regla general"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "word": "拇指規則"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "mǔzhǐ guīzé",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "tags": [
            "calque"
          ],
          "word": "拇指规则"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "word": "概測法"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "gàicèfǎ",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "word": "概测法"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "word": "經驗法則"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "jīngyàn fǎzé",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "word": "经验法则"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "word": "一般規則"
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        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
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          "roman": "yībān guīzé",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "word": "一般规则"
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          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "tommelfingerregel"
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        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "vuistregel"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "word": "nyrkkisääntö"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "word": "peukalosääntö"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "règle générale"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "word": "au doigt mouillé"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "word": "au pif"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Faustregel"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Daumenregel"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "praktikós kanónas",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "πρακτικός κανόνας"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "vasikós kanónas",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "βασικός κανόνας"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "word": "ökölszabály"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "þumalputtaregla"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "word": "a lume di naso"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "alt": "だいたいのめやす",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "daitai no meyasu",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "word": "大体の目安"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "alt": "めのこざん",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "me no kozan",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "word": "目の子算"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "mk",
          "lang": "Macedonian",
          "roman": "opšto načelo",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "општо начело"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "tommelfingerregel"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "nn",
          "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "tommelfingerregel"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "word": "heurística"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "word": "macete"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "word": "manha"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "praktíčeskoje právilo",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "практи́ческое пра́вило"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "empiríčeskij prijóm",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "эмпири́ческий приём"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "regla general"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "tumregel"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
          "word": "pratik kural"
        }
      ]
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      "examples": [
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          "text": "I made a quick, rule-of-thumb estimate of the manhours required for the job.",
          "type": "example"
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      "glosses": [
        "Approximated, guesstimated."
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      "id": "en-rule_of_thumb-en-noun-gFe9gCjZ",
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          "approximate"
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          "guesstimated",
          "guesstimate"
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      "qualifier": "usually hyphenated",
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        "(attributive, usually hyphenated) Approximated, guesstimated."
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  "word": "rule of thumb"
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{
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          "expansion": "→ German: Daumenregel (calque)",
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      "text": "→ German: Daumenregel (calque)"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Attested since 1658. Of uncertain origin, but probably based on the use of the thumb as reference for various measurements. For instance, one theory notes that the inch originated as the distance between the base of the thumbnail and the first joint, another notes the practice of approximating the general direction of the wind by wetting the thumb then raising it in the air. A third theory notes that English royal banquet plate setters used the distance of their thumbs to equally space each plate from the table edge.\nThe erroneous claim that the term referred to the maximum thickness of a stick with which it was permissible for a man to beat his wife has appeared in The Washington Post and Time; it may originate from Del Martin's 1976 book Battered Wives.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "rules of thumb",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "rules of thumb"
      },
      "expansion": "rule of thumb (plural rules of thumb)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The usual rule of thumb says that to calculate when an investment will double, divide 70 by the interest rate.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "c. 1935, Ogden Nash, “Reflection on Ingenuity”, in Verses from 1929 On, published 1959:",
          "text": "Here's a good rule of thumb:\nToo clever is dumb.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2016, James Lambert, “Ornithonymy and Lexicographical Selection Criteria”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 30, number 1, pages 39–62:",
          "text": "Since it is impossible to second-guess what a user will want to look up, there is a general lexicographical rule of thumb to err on the side of inclusion.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A general guideline, rather than a strict rule; an approximate measure or means of reckoning based on experience or common knowledge."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "guideline",
          "guideline"
        ],
        [
          "approximate",
          "approximate"
        ],
        [
          "reckon",
          "reckon"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I made a quick, rule-of-thumb estimate of the manhours required for the job.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Approximated, guesstimated."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "hyphenated",
          "hyphenated"
        ],
        [
          "Approximated",
          "approximate"
        ],
        [
          "guesstimated",
          "guesstimate"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "usually hyphenated",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(attributive, usually hyphenated) Approximated, guesstimated."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "attributive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-rule of thumb.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/e/e6/En-au-rule_of_thumb.ogg/En-au-rule_of_thumb.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/En-au-rule_of_thumb.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "english": "in attributive usage",
      "word": "rule-of-thumb"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "alt": "qāʕida(t) ʕāmma",
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "word": "قَاعِدَة عَامَّة"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "regla general"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "word": "拇指規則"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "mǔzhǐ guīzé",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "tags": [
        "calque"
      ],
      "word": "拇指规则"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "word": "概測法"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "gàicèfǎ",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "word": "概测法"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "word": "經驗法則"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "jīngyàn fǎzé",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "word": "经验法则"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "word": "一般規則"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "yībān guīzé",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "word": "一般规则"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "tommelfingerregel"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "vuistregel"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "word": "nyrkkisääntö"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "word": "peukalosääntö"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "règle générale"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "word": "au doigt mouillé"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "word": "au pif"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Faustregel"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Daumenregel"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "praktikós kanónas",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "πρακτικός κανόνας"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "vasikós kanónas",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "βασικός κανόνας"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "word": "ökölszabály"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "þumalputtaregla"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "word": "a lume di naso"
    },
    {
      "alt": "だいたいのめやす",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "daitai no meyasu",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "word": "大体の目安"
    },
    {
      "alt": "めのこざん",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "me no kozan",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "word": "目の子算"
    },
    {
      "code": "mk",
      "lang": "Macedonian",
      "roman": "opšto načelo",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "општо начело"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "tommelfingerregel"
    },
    {
      "code": "nn",
      "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "tommelfingerregel"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "word": "heurística"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "word": "macete"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "word": "manha"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "praktíčeskoje právilo",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "практи́ческое пра́вило"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "empiríčeskij prijóm",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "эмпири́ческий приём"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "regla general"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "tumregel"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule",
      "word": "pratik kural"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "rule of thumb"
  ],
  "word": "rule of thumb"
}

Download raw JSONL data for rule of thumb meaning in English (9.3kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.