ground rule

English

Pronunciation

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Noun

ground rule (plural ground rules)

1. (sports) A rule regarding play on a specific field, course, or court.
2. (idiomatic, usually in the plural) The basic rules or standards; whatever someone must know before proceeding.
   • 2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 109:

     The apparent success of the City and South London triggered an avalanche of bills for Tube railways, and in 1892 a Joint Select Committee of Parliament set out some ground rules.

   Make sure everybody knows the ground rules for the trip before they leave.

Translations

a rule regarding play on a specific field, course, or court

the basic rules or standards; whatever someone must know before proceeding

• Finnish: perussääntö
• Hungarian: alapszabály (hu)