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rule of thumb
noun
- a general or approximate principle, procedure, or rule based on experience or practice, as opposed to a specific, scientific calculation or estimate.
- a rough, practical method of procedure.
rule of thumb
noun
- a rough and practical approach, based on experience, rather than a scientific or precise one based on theory
- ( as modifier )
a rule-of-thumb decision
rule of thumb
- A practical principle that comes from the wisdom of experience and is usually but not always valid: “When playing baseball, a good rule of thumb is to put your best hitter fourth in the batting order.”
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Word History and Origins
Origin of rule of thumb1
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Idioms and Phrases
A rough and useful principle or method, based on experience rather than precisely accurate measures. For example, His work with the youth group is largely by rule of thumb . This expression alludes to making rough estimates of measurements by using one's thumb. [Second half of 1600s]Discover More
Example Sentences
It is servility to rule-of-thumb criteria, and a dullness of perception, a timidity in acceptance.
Accurate knowledge is a good thing, but rule-of-thumb experience is often thought to be better.
With such a rule-of-thumb reckoning, you are likely to remain as much in the dark as before.
The knowledge of human nature thus evoked is in no sense science, it is a mere rule-of-thumb affair, a thin mechanical empiricism.
So he's a pretty good rule-of-thumb astrogator, too, and we're computing every element of the flight.
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Related Words
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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