yardsticks
Three-foot measuring tools
Yardsticks are standards used for comparison or evaluation: Test scores have become the yardstick for measuring school performance.
The figurative sense comes from the literal one—a flat measuring stick one yard long, used in sewing, carpentry, and general measurement before tape measures became common.
One who governs
- meterstickOne-hundred-centimeter measuring tool
- straightedgeLine-drawing tool
- scaleMeasure of relative size
- gaugeStandard of measurement
calibration · inch · foot · span · length · dimension · distance · marking
ruler
One who governs
- meterstickOne-hundred-centimeter measuring tool
- straightedgeLine-drawing tool
- scaleMeasure of relative size
gauge · calibration · inch · foot · span · length · dimension · distance · marking · increment
assessment
Formal evaluation of worth
- appraisalEstimation of worth
- judgmentReasoned decision-making capacity
- ratingAssigned evaluative score
ranking · scoring · grading · comparison · analysis · estimation · weighing · measuring · judging · criteria
benchmark
Standard for comparison
touchstone · barometer · gauge · reference · guideline · threshold · parameter · indicator · metric · measure
yardstickstape measures
Flexible marked length finders
eyeballing · guesswork · measuring tapes · micrometers · calipers
yardsticksgut feelings
Intuitive sense without reasoning
intuitions · hunches · whims · guesswork · biases
yardsticksguesses
Estimates without certainty
approximations · ballpark figures · wild guesses · speculation · conjecture