norm

noun

ˈnȯrm 

1

: an authoritative standard : model

2

: a principle of right action binding upon the members of a group and serving to guide, control, or regulate proper and acceptable behavior

No society lacks norms governing conduct.

—Robert K. Merton

3

: average: such as

a

: a set standard of development or achievement usually derived from the average or median achievement of a large group

b

: a pattern or trait taken to be typical in the behavior of a social group

studies aimed at establishing the norms of sexual behavior among the middle classes

c

: a widespread or usual practice, procedure, or custom

standing ovations became the norm

Bilingualism is the norm in many countries.

4

a

: a real-valued nonnegative function defined on a vector space with value analogous to length and satisfying the conditions that the function is zero if and only if the vector (see vector entry 1 sense 1a) is zero, the function of the product of a scalar and a vector is equal to the product of the absolute value of the scalar and the function of the vector, and the function of the sum of two vectors is less than or equal to the sum of the functions of the two vectors

specifically : the square root of the sum of the squares of the absolute values of the elements of a matrix (see matrix sense 5a) or of the components of a vector

b

: the greatest distance between two successive points of a set of points that partition an interval (see interval sense 3) into smaller intervals

Synonyms

• average
• normal
• par
• standard

Choose the Right Synonym for norm

average, mean, median, norm mean something that represents a middle point.

average is the quotient obtained by dividing the sum total of a set of figures by the number of figures.

scored an average of 85 on tests

mean may be the simple average or it may represent value midway between two extremes.

a high of 70° and a low of 50° give a mean of 60°

median applies to the value that represents the point at which there are as many instances above as there are below.

average of a group of persons earning 3, 4, 5, 8, and 10 dollars an hour is 6 dollars, whereas the median is 5 dollars

norm means the average of performance of a significantly large group, class, or grade.

scores about the norm for fifth grade arithmetic

Examples of norm in a Sentence

She scored well above the norm in math.

Smaller families have become the norm.

Women used to stay at home to take care of the children, but that's no longer the norm.

Recent Examples on the Web

Ann Skeet, senior director of leadership ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, said the tone was set early on by Trump for opting not to follow conflict-of-interest norms set by previous presidents. —Matt Egan, CNN, 13 Feb. 2025

Recent decades have seen presidents from both parties erode laws and norms meant to restrain their power, increasingly without the sort of pushback from members of their own party that restrained their predecessors (including FDR). —Lawrence Norden, TIME, 12 Feb. 2025

The United States has also developed an extensive set of rules and norms to prevent the politicization of key state institutions. —Steven Levitsky, Foreign Affairs, 11 Feb. 2025

The intervention and reasoning — that a powerful defendant could be too occupied with official duties to face accountability for alleged crimes — marked an extraordinary deviation from long-standing Justice Department norms, which typically afford independence to federal prosecutors. —Eric Tucker, Chicago Tribune, 11 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin norma "carpenterʼs square, pattern," probably borrowed from an Etruscan adaptation of Greek gnṓmōn "carpenterʼs square, indicator on a sundial" — more at gnomon

First Known Use

1674, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing norm

• the norm

Kids Definition

norm

noun

ˈnȯ(ə)rm 

1

: average entry 1 sense 2

especially : a set standard of development or achievement usually derived from the average or median achievement of a large group

2

: a common or typical practice or custom

Medical Definition

norm

noun

ˈnȯ(ə)rm 

: an established standard or average: as

a

: a set standard of development or achievement usually derived from the average or median achievement of a large group

b

: a pattern or trait taken to be typical in the behavior of a social group