standard ( standards plural )
1 n-count A standard is a level of quality or achievement, especially a level that is thought to be acceptable.
The standard of professional cricket has never been lower..., There will be new national standards for hospital cleanliness.
2 n-count A standard is something that you use in order to judge the quality of something else.
...systems that were by later standards absurdly primitive.
3 n-plural Standards are moral principles which affect people's attitudes and behaviour.
usu with supp
My father has always had high moral standards.
4 adj You use standard to describe things which are usual and normal.
usu ADJ n
It was standard practice for untrained clerks to advise in serious cases such as murder...
5 adj A standard work or text on a particular subject is one that is widely read and often recommended. ADJ n
If you describe something as bog-standard you mean that is an ordinary example of its kind, with no exciting or interesting features.
INFORMAL adj usu ADJ n (disapproval)
(=common or garden)
`The Bodyguard' is a fairly bog-standard thriller.
double standard ( double standards plural ) If you accuse a person or institution of applying double standards in their treatment of different groups of people, you mean that they unfairly allow more freedom of behaviour to one group than to another. n-count
Mrs Starky accused the local police of operating double standards...
living standard ( living standards plural ) Living standards or living standard is used to refer to the level of comfort in which people live, which usually depends on how much money they have. n-count usu pl
Cheaper housing would vastly improve the living standards of ordinary people..., Critics say his reforms have caused the fall in living standards.
non-standard , nonstandard
Non-standard things are different from the usual version or type of that thing. adj usu ADJ n (Antonym: standard)
The shop is completely out of non-standard sizes.
standard bearer ( standard bearers plural ) , standard-bearer If you describe someone as the standard bearer of a group, you mean that they act as the leader or public representative of a group of people who have the same aims or interests. n-count usu with supp
Farrakhan was a poor standard-bearer for the causes of African-Americans.
standard lamp ( standard lamps plural ) A standard lamp is a tall electric light which stands on the floor in a living room.
in AM, use floor lamp
standard of living ( standards of living plural ) Your standard of living is the level of comfort and wealth which you have. n-count
We'll continue to fight for a decent standard of living for our members.
Standard time is the official local time of a region or country. n-uncount usu supp N
French standard time is GMT plus 1 hr.
sub-standard , substandard
A sub-standard service or product is unacceptable because it is below a required standard. adj
Residents in general are poor and undereducated, and live in sub-standard housing.