1. 规则;规定;章程;条例
    Rules are instructions that tell you what you are allowed to do and what you are not allowed to do.

    e.g. ...a thirty-two-page pamphlet explaining the rules of basketball...
           说明篮球规则的32页的小册子
    e.g. Sikhs were expected to adhere strictly to the religious rules concerning appearance...
           锡克教徒应当严格遵守该教对外表的规定。

2. 行事准则;指导方针;应做的事
    A rule is a statement telling people what they should do in order to achieve success or a benefit of some kind.

    e.g. An important rule is to drink plenty of water during any flight...
           一条重要的原则就是每次坐飞机都要多喝水。
    e.g. By and large, the rules for healthy eating are the same during pregnancy as at any other time.
           总的来说，怀孕期间健康饮食的原则和其他时期是一致的。

3. （语言或科学中的）规律，法则
    The rules of something such as a language or a science are statements that describe the way that things usually happen in a particular situation.

    e.g. It is a rule of English that adjectives generally precede the noun they modify.
           形容词一般放在所修饰名词的前面是英语中的一条规律。
    e.g. ...according to the rules of quantum theory.
           根据量子论的原理

4. 普遍情况;常规;惯例
    If something is the rule, it is the normal state of affairs.

    e.g. However, for many Americans today, weekend work has unfortunately become the rule rather than the exception.
           然而，现在对于很多美国人来说，周末工作不幸已经成为了一种普遍情况，而非例外。

5. 统治;控制;支配
    The person or group that rules a country controls its affairs.

    e.g. For four centuries, he says, foreigners have ruled Angola...
           他说，外来者统治安哥拉的时间已长达4个世纪。
    e.g. He ruled for eight months.
           他统治了8个月的时间。

6. 控制;制约;影响
    If something rules your life, it influences or restricts your actions in a way that is not good for you.

    e.g. Scientists have always been aware of how fear can rule our lives and make us ill.
           科学家一直都很清楚恐惧会影响我们的生活，引起我们身体的不适。

7. 判定;裁定;裁决
    When someone in authority rules that something is true or should happen, they state that they have officially decided that it is true or should happen.

    e.g. The court ruled that laws passed by the assembly remained valid...
           法院裁定议会通过的法律仍然有效。
    e.g. The Israeli court has not yet ruled on the case...
           以色列法院尚未对此案作出裁决。

8. (用尺等)画(直线)
    If you rule a straight line, you draw it using something that has a straight edge.

    e.g. ...a ruled grid of horizontal and vertical lines.
           由水平线和垂直线画成的格子

9. see also: golden rule;ground rule;ruling;slide rule

10. 通常;一般来说
    If you say that something happens as a rule, you mean that it usually happens.

    e.g. As a rule, however, such attacks have been aimed at causing damage rather than taking life.
           然而，通常此类袭击只是为了造成破坏，并非要人性命。
    e.g. As a general rule, burglars are wary about gaining entry from the front or side of a building.
           通常来说，窃贼对从房屋的正面或侧面潜入会比较谨慎。

11. 变通规则;放松规定;通融
      If someone in authority bends the rules or stretches the rules, they do something even though it is against the rules.

      e.g. There is a particular urgency in this case, and it would help if you could bend the rules.
             这次碰巧有紧急情况，如果您能通融一下就好了。

12. (根据实际经验的)粗略估算;经验之谈
      A rule of thumb is a rule or principle that you follow which is not based on exact calculations, but rather on experience.

      e.g. A good rule of thumb is that a broker must generate sales of ten times his salary if his employer is to make a profit...
             根据经验来看，如果雇主要获得利润，那么其代理商必须卖出相当于其工资10倍的销售额。
      e.g. As a rule of thumb, a cup of filter coffee contains about 80mg of caffeine.
             凭经验估计，一杯过滤咖啡约含80毫克咖啡因。

13. 按章工作;变相怠工
      If workers work to rule, they protest by working according to the rules of their job without doing any extra work or taking any new decisions.

      e.g. Nurses are continuing to work to rule.
             护士们还在消极怠工。

相关词组：rule inrule outrule out of