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code

492 3.9

A set of rules that people agree to follow in a job or group

noun
/koʊd/

Formal

: código

They operate outside of the code of military justice.
penal code
criminal code
tax code

And yet we see how that code is still honorable.

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Examples

New work orders for the manufacture of pressure vessels to ASME code requirements came in.

Academic text (2011)
The site creates a QR code for a Wikipedia article in the language you choose.

Academic text (2011)
Well, in the tax code, not very clear.

Evan Carmichael
The dress code is quite laid back.

Diana: Life in Fashion (2022)
I will make certain he faces action under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Fiction book (1997)
The sample tended to stress a strong moral code, academic achievement, and social skills.

Academic text (2011)
Lenny, have you determined if this is a Section 355 transaction... under the new code?

The Boost (1988)
Researchers met with the principal investigator to review all codes and resolve discrepancies.

Academic text (2011)
The CAAPF designation requirements in the Code of Federal Regulations are too lax.

Academic text (1999)
The city enforced strict building codes to ensure all structures met safety standards.

Synonyms

law

vscode

∞ 1.0

A rule made by a government that people must follow

is a set of written rules rather than a single government rule

code of conduct

vscode

23 3.4

A set of rules that members of a group must follow

applies more widely to formal rules beyond specific groups

legal code

vscode

Formal

2 3.9

A set of laws a country officially uses

covers formal rules and principles beyond official state laws

ethical code

vscode

2 4.1

A set of rules that tell people in a job or group how to behave

covers formal rules and procedures beyond purely moral guidance

code of behavior

vscode

1 3.7

A set of rules members of a group like a school or company must follow

is formally written or accepted rather than informal group expectations

system of rules

vscode

1 4.2

A set of ideas that guides how people act or how things work

is about formally written and accepted rules for regulating behavior

Compounds

access code

Specialized

44 3.1

A set of numbers or letters you enter to open a locked device such as a phone

dress code

40 2.5

Rules about what clothes people can or must wear in a place

ZIP code

35 1.6

A group of numbers used in a United States postal address to sort mail

area code

35 1.8

Three numbers at the start of a phone number that show where it is

code red

Jargon

28 6.5

A very serious emergency that needs immediate action

code of conduct

23 3.4

A set of rules that members of a group must follow

source code

Specialized

21 4.1

Text of a computer program that people can read and change

genetic code

Specialized

18 3.5

The order of letters in DNA or RNA that tells cells how to make proteins

Morse code

Specialized

15 4.1

A system of dots and dashes used to send letters and numbers as messages

building code

Formal

14 3.5

Rules made by local government about how to design and build safe buildings

penal code

Formal

9 4.6

A set of laws that defines crimes and their punishments in a country

United States Code

Formal

8 6.0

A collection of federal laws arranged by subject and published by the government

computer code

Specialized

7 3.1

Instructions written in a language a computer can follow

bar code

Specialized

4 2.5

A pattern of black bars and numbers on products that a scanner reads

health code

4 3.7

Official rules set by the government about public health, like sanitation and food safety

binary code

Specialized

3 3.5

A system that uses 0s and 1s to show text and instructions in computers

secret code

3 5.2

A set of words, letters or signs used to hide a message

fire code

Formal

3 3.4

A set of rules made by authorities about buildings to prevent fires and keep people safe

strict code

3 4.2

A set of rules people must always follow with no exceptions

U. S. Code

Formal

3 7.0

A book that lists the federal laws of the United States by subject

ethical code

2 4.1

A set of rules that tell people in a job or group how to behave

legal code

Formal

2 3.9

A set of laws a country officially uses

postal code

South African

2 1.7

A short set of letters and numbers added to an address to help deliver mail

code of behavior

1 3.7

A set of rules members of a group like a school or company must follow

machine code

Specialized

1 4.9

A set of instructions in numbers that a computer's processor can run directly

cheat code

Jargon

1 4.2

A series of buttons or commands that give an unfair advantage in a video game

secret code

Specialized

1 3.5

A set of numbers or letters used to unlock an account

clean code

Specialized

1 4.0

Clear, well organized computer instructions that are easy to read and change

code yellow

Jargon

1 6.8

An alert warning people about a specific emergency, for example bad weather or a missing person

code monkey

Offensive

1 8.2

A person who only writes routine computer code and has no say in decisions

code repository

Specialized

1 3.8

A place where programmers store and share code to work together

color code

1 3.6

A system that uses different colors to show groups or information

object code

Specialized

1 7.4

Machine instructions made from a program so a computer can run it

triplet code

Specialized

1 6.5

A way that uses groups of three DNA letters to tell cells which parts to use to make proteins

spaghetti code

Jargon

1 7.2

Poorly organized computer code that is tangled and hard to change

code brown

Jargon

7.9

An alert telling staff to respond to a dangerous spill or escaped animal

code clean

Specialized

5.8

Source code written clearly so other programmers can read and change it

code flag

Specialized

7.1

A flag used to send messages between ships

dirty code

Jargon

7.2

Computer code that is badly written and hard to read or fix

error correction code

Specialized

4.3

A way of adding extra information to data so small errors can be found and fixed

American Standard Code for Information Interchange

Specialized

6.3

A code using seven bits to represent letters, numbers, and simple control characters so computers can share text

bar code

Specialized

3.5

A short piece of DNA used to identify a species

hacky code

Jargon

8.3

Code written quickly as a temporary fix that causes problems

Hamming code

Specialized

7.0

A method that adds extra bits to digital data to find and fix one-bit errors

health code

Texting

3.7

A digital code that shows a person's vaccination or recent test status to allow entry to places

Highway Code

4.6

An official set of rules for using public roads in the United Kingdom

international Morse code

Specialized

5.3

A way to show letters and numbers using dots and dashes

Justinian code

Specialized

9.3

A collection of Roman civil laws made under Emperor Justinian in the 500s that influenced many modern legal systems

order code

Specialized

4.9

The part of a computer instruction that tells it which operation to do

order code

3.4

A unique code of letters and numbers for tracking a customer's purchase

operation code

Specialized

5.0

A part of a computer instruction that tells the computer what to do

preppy dress code

4.7

A neat, classic style of clothing with blazers and ties like private school students wear

sanitary code

Formal

4.6

Official rules requiring clean, safe places to protect people's health

Universal Product Code

Specialized

3.4

A set of black bars and numbers on a product package scanned in stores

How Binding

law

∞ 1.0

statute

Formal

234 5.5

regulation

Formal

4.0

code

Formal

492 3.9

policy

∞ 2.7

guideline

344 3.1

Surface Forms

code singular

codes plural

Etymology

Code comes from the Latin codex, 'book', and long ago people used such books to collect laws and rules, so a Code is a written set of rules or laws for behaviour or procedure.