From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishguiding principleguiding principleADVISEsomething that helps you decide what to do in a difficult situation Fairness, rather than efficiency, is the guiding principle. → guiding
Examples from the Corpus
guiding principle• Competition, time-serving, jockeying for advantage, and avoiding blame were the new guiding principles.• His presidency lacked an over-arching theme or a guiding principle.• Prudence would be the guiding principle.• They can do this by establishing clear guiding principles against which all actions need to be evaluated.• Although controversies still abound, there are some guiding principles for the conduct of daily schooling.• That principle is the guiding principle in the assessment of damages in personal injuries cases.• The guiding principle of the Okapi research is that the system must adapt itself to the user rather than the converse.• They take as their guiding principle that they will safeguard this right. 37. 