standard

Pronunciation: /ˈstandəd/

Definition of standard

1a level of quality or attainment:their restaurant offers a high standard of service the government’s ambition to raise standards in schools
a required or agreed level of quality or attainment:half of the beaches fail to comply with European standards [mass noun]:their tap water was not up to standard
British historical (in elementary schools) a grade of proficiency tested by examination or the form or class preparing pupils for such a grade: she was still in boarding school and had twice repeated the same standard

2something used as a measure, norm, or model in comparative evaluations:the wages are low by today’s standards the system had become an industry standard
(standards) principles of conduct informed by notions of honour and decency:a decline in moral standards
the prescribed weight of fine metal in gold or silver coins:the sterling standard for silver
a system by which the value of a currency is defined in terms of gold or silver or both.
a measure for timber, equivalent to 165 cu. ft (4.67 cubic metres).

3(especially with reference to jazz or blues) a tune or song of established popularity.

5a tree or shrub that grows on an erect stem of full height.
a shrub grafted on an erect stem and trained in tree form: [as modifier]:a standard rose
Botany the large, frequently erect uppermost petal of a papilionaceous flower. Also called vexillum.
Botany one of the inner petals of an iris flower, frequently erect.

1used or accepted as normal or average:the standard rate of income tax it is standard practice in museums to register objects as they are acquired
(of a size, measure, design, etc.) regularly used or produced; not special or exceptional:all these doors come in a range of standard sizes
(of a work, repertoire, or writer) viewed as authoritative or of permanent value and so widely read or performed:his essays on the interpretation of reality became a standard text
denoting or relating to the form of a language widely accepted as the usual correct form:speakers of standard English

2 [attributive] (of a tree or shrub) growing on an erect stem of full height: standard trees are useful for situations where immediate height is needed
(of a shrub) grafted on an erect stem and trained in tree form:standard roses

Phrases

raise one's (or the) standard: take up arms; oppose:he is the only one who has dared raise his standard against her

standardly: any natural law theory standardly requires a form of rational justification

Middle English (denoting a flag raised on a pole as a rallying point, the authorized exemplar of a unit of measurement, or an upright timber): shortening of Old French estendart, from estendre 'extend'; in standard (sense 4 of the noun), standard (sense 5 of the noun), standard (sense 6 of the noun), influenced by the verb stand

Definition of standard in the US English dictionary