yardstick

[ yahrd-stik ]
See synonyms for yardstick on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a stick a yard long, commonly marked with subdivisions, used for measuring.

  2. any standard of measurement or judgment: Test scores are not the only yardstick of academic achievement.

Origin of yardstick

1
An Americanism dating back to 1810–20; yard1 + stick1

Words Nearby yardstick

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use yardstick in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for yardstick

yardstick

/ (ˈjɑːdˌstɪk) /


noun
  1. a measure or standard used for comparison: on what kind of yardstick is he basing his criticism?

  2. a graduated stick, one yard long, used for measurement

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012