Definition of NORM

finition of NORM

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

3

: 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

c : a widespread or usual practice, procedure, or custom <standing ovations became the norm>

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 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 or of the components of a vector

b : the greatest distance between two successive points of a set of points that partition an interval into smaller intervals

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Examples of NORM

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.

Origin of NORM

Latin norma, literally, carpenter's square

First Known Use: 1674

Related to NORM

Synonyms

average, normal, par, standard

Related Words

golden mean, mean, median, middle; commonplace, ordinary, rule, run, status quo, usual; exemplar, representative

Near Antonyms

abnormality, anomaly, deviation, exception, rarity

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See Synonym Discussion at average

Rhymes with NORM

corm, dorm, form, storm, swarm, warm

norm

noun \ˈnȯ(ə)rm\ (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of NORM

: 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

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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for "norm"

Spanish-English Dictionary: Translation of "norm"

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about "norm"

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