stan·dard (st?n?d?rd)adj.1. Serving as or conforming to an established or accepted measurement or value: a standard unit of volume.2. Widely recognized or employed as a model of authority or excellence: a standard reference work.3. Acceptable but of less than top quality: a standard grade of beef.4. Normal, familiar, or usual: the standard excuse.5. Commonly used or supplied: standard car equipment.6. Linguistics Conforming to models or norms of usage admired by educated speakers and writers: standard pronunciation.n.1. a. An acknowledged measure of comparison for quantitative or qualitative value; a criterion. See Synonyms at ideal.b. An object that under specified conditions defines, represents, or records the magnitude of a unit.2. a. The commodity or commodities used to back a monetary system.b. The set proportion by weight of gold or silver to alloy metal prescribed for use in coinage.3. a. A degree or level of requirement, excellence, or attainment: Their quality of work exceeds the standards set for the field.b. Something, such as a practice or a product, that is widely recognized or employed, especially because of its excellence.c. A set of specifications that are adopted within an industry to allow compatibility between products.d. A requirement of moral conduct: the standards of polite society.4. A flag, banner, or ensign, especially:a. The ensign of a chief of state, nation, or city.b. A long, tapering flag bearing heraldic devices distinctive of a person or corporation.c. An emblem or flag of an army, raised on a pole to indicate the rallying point in battle.d. The colors of a mounted or motorized military unit.5. Chiefly British A grade level in elementary schools.6. A pedestal, stand, or base.7. The large upper petal of the flower of a pea or related plant. Also called banner, vexillum.8. One of the narrow upright petals of an iris.9. A shrub or small tree that through grafting or training has a single stem of limited height with a crown of leaves and flowers at its apex.10. Music A composition that is continually used in repertoires: a pianist who knew dozens of Broadway standards.[Middle English, flag, banner, standard measure (perhaps from the use of flags as points of reference in battle) , from Old French estandard, flag marking a rallying place, from Frankish *standhard, probably originally meaning standing firmly, steadfast : *standan, to stand; see st?- in Indo-European roots + *hard, firm, hard; see kar- in Indo-European roots.]stan?dard·ly adv.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.standard (?stænd?d) n1. an accepted or approved example of something against which others are judged or measured2. (often plural) a principle of propriety, honesty, and integrity: she has no standards. 3. a level of excellence or quality: a low standard of living. 4. (Heraldry) any distinctive flag, device, etc, as of a nation, sovereign, or special cause5. (Military) a. any of a variety of naval or military flagsb. the colours of a cavalry regiment6. (Military) a flag or emblem formerly used to show the central or rallying point of an army in battle7. (Heraldry) a large tapering flag ending in two points, originally borne by a sovereign or high-ranking noble8. (Economics) the commodity or commodities in which is stated the value of a basic monetary unit: the gold standard. 9. (Units) an authorized model of a unit of measure or weight10. (Units) a unit of board measure equal to 1980 board feet11. (Banking & Finance) (in coinage) the prescribed proportion by weight of precious metal and base metal that each coin must contain12. an upright pole or beam, esp one used as a support13. (Furniture) a. a piece of furniture consisting of an upright pole or beam on a base or supportb. (as modifier): a standard lamp. 14. (Botany) a. a plant, esp a fruit tree, that is trained so that it has an upright stem free of branchesb. (as modifier): a standard cherry. 15. (Music, other) a song or piece of music that has remained popular for many years16. (Botany) the largest petal of a leguminous flower, such as a sweetpea17. (Education) (in New Zealand and, formerly, in England and Wales) a class or level of attainment in an elementary schooladj18. of the usual, regularized, medium, or accepted kind: a standard size. 19. of recognized authority, competence, or excellence: the standard work on Greece. 20. (Linguistics) denoting or characterized by idiom, vocabulary, etc, that is regarded as correct and acceptable by educated native speakers. Compare nonstandard, informal21. (Cookery) Brit (formerly) (of eggs) of a size that is smaller than large and larger than medium[C12: from Old French estandart gathering place, flag to mark such a place, probably of Germanic origin; compare Old High German stantan to stand, Old High German ort place]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014stand?ard (?stæn d?rd) n. 1. something considered by an authority or by general consent as a basis of comparison. 2. an object regarded as the most common size or form of its kind. 3. a rule or principle that is used as a basis for judgment. 4. an average or normal quality, quantity, or level: The work isn’t up to his usual standard. 5. standards, the morals, ethics, customs, etc., regarded generally or by an individual as acceptable. 6. the authorized exemplar of a unit of weight or measure. 7. a certain commodity in or by which a basic monetary unit is stated: gold standard. 8. the legally established content of full-weight coins. 9. the prescribed degree of fineness for gold or silver. 10. Brit. a class or grade in elementary schools. 11. a musical piece of sufficiently enduring popularity to be made part of a permanent repertoire, esp. a popular song. 12. a flag indicating the presence of a sovereign or public official. 13. a flag or emblematic figure used as a rallying point for an army, fleet, etc. 14. a. any of various military or naval flags. b. the colors of a mounted military unit. 15. a long, narrow, tapering flag bearing heraldic devices and personal to an individual or group. 16. something that stands or is placed upright. 17. an upright support. 18. a long candlestick or candelabrum used in a church. 19. a plant trained or grafted to have a single, erect, treelike stem. 20. a distinct petal, larger than the rest, of certain flowers; a vexillum. adj. 21. serving as a basis of weight, measure, value, comparison, or judgment. 22. of recognized excellence or established authority: a standard reference book. 23. usual or customary. 24. manual; not electric or automatic: standard transmission. 25. conforming in pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, etc., to the usage of most educated native speakers and widely considered acceptable or correct. Compare nonstandard (def. 2). 26. officially approved; authorized. 27. (of meat, esp. beef or veal) of or designating a grade immediately below select or good. [1125?75; Middle English