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adj. 1. Serving as or conforming to an established or accepted measurement or value: a standard unit of volume. 2. Widely recognized or employed as a model of authority or excellence: a standard reference work. 3. Acceptable but of less than top quality: a standard grade of beef. 4. Normal, familiar, or usual: the standard excuse. 5. Commonly used or supplied: standard car equipment. 6. Linguistics Conforming to models or norms of usage admired by educated speakers and writers: standard pronunciation. n. 1. a. An acknowledged measure of comparison for quantitative or qualitative value; a criterion. See Synonyms at ideal. b. An object that under specified conditions defines, represents, or records the magnitude of a unit. 2. a. The commodity or commodities used to back a monetary system. b. The set proportion by weight of gold or silver to alloy metal prescribed for use in coinage. 3. a. A degree or level of requirement, excellence, or attainment: Their quality of work exceeds the standards set for the field. b. Something, such as a practice or a product, that is widely recognized or employed, especially because of its excellence. c. A set of specifications that are adopted within an industry to allow compatibility between products. d. A requirement of moral conduct: the standards of polite society. 4. A flag, banner, or ensign, especially: a. The ensign of a chief of state, nation, or city. b. A long, tapering flag bearing heraldic devices distinctive of a person or corporation. c. An emblem or flag of an army, raised on a pole to indicate the rallying point in battle. d. The colors of a mounted or motorized military unit. 5. Chiefly British A grade level in elementary schools. 6. A pedestal, stand, or base. 7. The large upper petal of the flower of a pea or related plant. Also called banner, vexillum. 8. One of the narrow upright petals of an iris. 9. A shrub or small tree that through grafting or training has a single stem of limited height with a crown of leaves and flowers at its apex. 10. Music A composition that is continually used in repertoires: a pianist who knew dozens of Broadway standards. [Middle English, flag, banner, standard measure (perhaps from the use of flags as points of reference in battle) , from Old French estandard, flag marking a rallying place, from Frankish *standhard, probably originally meaning standing firmly, steadfast : *standan, to stand; see stā- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots + *hard, firm, hard; see kar- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] standard·ly adv. |
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