norm

¹

[ nawrm ]

noun

1. a standard, model, or pattern.
2. general level or average:

   Two cars per family is the norm in most suburban communities.

3. a behavior pattern or trait considered typical of a particular social group:

   The patients regained the norms of everyday life after their hospitalization.

4. Sociology. a pattern or standard of behavior expected of each member of a social group:

   In many countries, cultural norms result in women bearing primary responsibility for childcare.

5. Education.
   1. a designated standard of average performance of people of a given age, background, etc.
   2. a standard based on the past average performance of a given individual.
6. Mathematics.
   1. a real-valued, nonnegative function whose domain is a vector space, with properties such that the function of a vector is zero only when the vector is zero, the function of a scalar times a vector is equal to the absolute value of the scalar times the function of the vector, and the function of the sum of two vectors is less than or equal to the sum of the functional values of each vector. The norm of a real number is its absolute value.
   2. the greatest difference between two successive points of a given partition.

Norm.

²

abbreviation for

1. Norman.

Norm.

¹

abbreviation for

1. Norman

Norm

²

/ nɔːm /

noun

1. a stereotype of the unathletic Australian male

norm.

³

abbreviation for

1. normal

norm

⁴

/ nɔːm /

noun

1. an average level of achievement or performance, as of a group or person
2. a standard of achievement or behaviour that is required, desired, or designated as normal
3. sociol an established standard of behaviour shared by members of a social group to which each member is expected to conform
4. maths
   1. the length of a vector expressed as the square root of the sum of the square of its components
   2. another name for mode
5. geology the theoretical standard mineral composition of an igneous rock

Other Words From

• norm·less adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of norm¹

First recorded in 1820–30; from Latin norma “carpenter's square, rule, pattern”

Word History and Origins

Origin of norm¹

from a cartoon figure in the government-sponsored Life, Be In It campaign

Origin of norm²

C19: from Latin norma carpenter's rule, square

Example Sentences

In a statement, the family of one of the three boys assaulted by Millar said: "Even though he was mistreated badly, he thought it was the norm."

From BBC

Illegitimate and homosexual, he was doubly outside the era’s accepted social norms.

From Los Angeles Times

At existing plants, younger folks have injected innovation into longstanding operation norms, improving safety and efficiency.

From Los Angeles Times

However, that assumes that members of political parties respect the norms of constitutional government and display greater loyalty to the prerogatives of the branches of government in which they serve than their political party.

From Salon

There is a generational component to that, along with the familiar trends of personal economics meaning that people have greater autonomy to move away from the accepted norms in their communities.

From BBC

Related Words

• benchmark
• criterion
• measure
• model
• pattern
• rule