Skip to main content
guideline

guideline

14 4.1
A faint line drawn to help keep writing or drawing straight
  • noun
  • /ˈɡaɪdˌlaɪn/
translation icon : línea guía
  • When drawing, it is useful to draw a faint guideline so that your shapes are proportional.
  • clinical guideline
  • NICE guideline
  • asthma guideline

Examples

  • Control of drug serum levels between 6 and 10 mg/L represents a guideline for maximizing efficacy while minimizing toxicity.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Eight out of ten of the respondents met the ATE guideline for appropriate planning activities.

    Academic text (1990)
  • If you use the above systems as a guideline, your program can be successful.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Before you begin to assess, make a guideline that allows you to note different levels of accomplishment.

    Academic text (1999)
  • In line with the published NICE Quality Standard on asthma, the guideline recommends that inhaler technique should be assessed.

    Academic text (2015)
  • Over the same harmonic progression, students improvise or compose new melodies following the guidelines of chord tones.

    Academic text (2001)
  • The artist followed the faint guideline to ensure the letters were evenly spaced.

  • Teachers often use a guideline to help students align their handwriting on the page.

Synonyms

guide
vsguideline
33 4.4

A part that directs the movement or position of something

is specifically a faint alignment mark for letters in handwriting and printing
dotted line
vsguideline
15 2.5

A line of short marks that shows where to sign, write, or cut

is a faint continuous mark used to align letters when writing or drawing

Compounds

A funny list of rules to avoid accidents at Christmas events

How Visible

bold line
1 3.7
guideline
14 4.1

Surface Forms

guideline singular
guidelines plural

Morphology

guideline = guide + line (transparent) = guide + line

Literal compound 'guide' + 'line' denoting a physical line used to guide alignment, directly inferable by learners.

Etymology

Guideline comes from the words guide ('to show the way') and line ('a straight mark'). Think of a faint pencil line that 'shows the way' for your letters so you can keep them straight.