norm

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A usual or expected way of behaving that most people in a group accept.

   Grammar: Often plural for shared rules (social norms), or the norm for what is normal.

   Patterns

   • the norm
   • norms of something
   • break a norm

   Shaking hands when you meet is the norm in many countries.

   Social norms differ widely from one culture to another.

   Wearing a suit to the office used to be the norm.

2. 2nouncountable

   A standard or average level that is used to compare performance or measurements.

   Grammar: Often used with above or below: below the norm.

   Patterns

   • above the norm
   • below the norm
   • within the norm

   Her test scores were well above the norm for her age.

   Rainfall this year is below the norm.

   Doctors compare each child's height to the norm.

3. 3nouncountablemathematicstechnical

   In mathematics, a measure of the size or length of a vector or similar object.

   Grammar: A technical sense, used with vectors.

   Patterns

   • the norm of a vector

   The norm of the vector (3, 4) is five.

   A norm assigns a length to every vector in the space.

   Students learn how to compute the norm in linear algebra.

Word forms

Common combinations

social norm

Queueing politely is a social norm in many places.

the norm

Remote work has become the norm for many teams.

cultural norm

Gift giving is a cultural norm at weddings.

break the norm

She broke the norm by speaking first.

above the norm

Prices are above the norm this season.

depart from the norm

His design departs from the norm.

Synonyms and how they differ

standard

Standard can be a set level of quality, while norm describes what is typical for a group.

convention

A convention is an accepted way of doing things, which is more formal than the general norm.

average

Average is a mathematical middle value, but norm may also mean what is socially expected.

custom

A custom is a traditional practice of a group, whereas norm is a wider idea of expectation.

Opposites

Word family

normal adjective

typical or usual

normally adverb

usually

normative adjective

setting a standard of how things should be

normalize verb

to make something normal

abnormal adjective

different from what is usual

Commonly confused: norm or gnome? norm or norm vs. Norm?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “norm”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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