norm

¹ American  

[nawrm] / nɔrm /

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.

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Norm. ² American  

abbreviation

1. Norman.

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norm ¹ British  

/ 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

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Norm. ² British  

abbreviation

1. Norman

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Norm ³ British  

/ nɔːm /

noun

1. a stereotype of the unathletic Australian male

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norm. ⁴ British  

abbreviation

1. normal

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Other Word Forms

• normless adjective

Etymology

Origin of norm

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

Explanation

A statistical average is called the norm. If you live in a town made up mostly of farmers but your trade is basket weaving, then you're outside the norm. The noun norm is from the Latin word norma, which was a carpenter's square or pattern used in construction to make regular corners. Now we use norm for anything that sets a standard. You can score within the norm on a standardized test, score above the norm on an IQ test, or fall below the norm in acceptable standards of dress if you wear a halter top and cut-off jeans to a formal ball.

Example Sentences

“I’m currently working on an accessible life-coaching resource in the style of an ‘80s TV show, using YouTube videos, to show others they can defy the societal norm of being miserable,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

For those wanting to stay somewhere away from the norm, there are choices around the UK ranging from lighthouses and windmills to prison cells and tree houses.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

When updates did come, they arrived not from media briefings -- as would be the norm at an event of this scale -- but from press statements released via WhatsApp.

From Barron's • Apr. 11, 2026

“This is going to hurt families since it’s likely we see this become the norm across all airlines,” Nastro said.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026

And it really has been a nice deviation from the norm.

From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone

Related Words

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