From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishstandardstan‧dard1 /ˈstændəd $ -ərd/ ●●● S2 W2 noun 1 level of quality/achievement [countable, uncountable]LEVEL the level that is considered to be acceptable, or the level that someone or something has achieved Students have to reach a certain standard or they won’t pass. The airline has rigorous safety standards.standard of The committee is assessing the standard of care in local hospitals.2 → standards3 measurement [countable]USUALLY a fixed official rule for measuring weight, purity, value etc an official government standard for the purity of silver4 song [countable]APM a popular song that has been sung by many different singers popular jazz standards5 flag [countable] old-fashionedD a flag used in ceremonies the royal standard → double standard, living standardCOLLOCATIONSverbsmeet/reach a standardMany food businesses fail to meet basic standards of hygiene.set/lay down a standardThe government sets standards that all hospitals must reach.raise/improve standardsWe are determined to raise standards in our schools.lower standardsHe refused to lower his standards.maintain standards (=keep them at a good level)Television companies should maintain standards of taste and decency.standards improveThe standard of this festival improves every year.standards fall/slip/declineSchool inspectors say that educational standards have fallen.ADJECTIVES/NOUN + standardhigh/goodThe standard of their work was generally very high.low/poorThe report says the standard of children’s diet in Britain is poor.acceptable All too often their behaviour has fallen below acceptable standards.stringent/strict/rigorous/tough standards (=high standards that are difficult to reach)The Marines’ rigorous standards mean that only a small proportion of applicants are successful.international standardsClearly there is a need for international standards to be laid down to govern food safety.safety/hygiene/quality etc standardsAll our products meet the current safety standards.academic/educational standardsThere had been a policy of raising academic standards within the school.environmental standards (=to protect the environment)They called on the Indian government to apply stricter environmental standards.professional standards (=within a particular profession)The institutions have an evident interest in maintaining professional standards.living standards (also standard of living) (=the level of comfort and the amount of money people have)Living standards at all income levels improved over that period.phrasesan improvement/rise in standardsThere has been an improvement in living standards.a decline/drop in standardsThere has been a general decline in standards of literacy among undergraduates.be/come up to standard (=be good enough)Her work was not up to standard.be below standard (=not be good enough)His performance yesterday was below standard.by modern standards/today’s standardsThe technology was crude by modern standards.by our standards (=judging by what we are used to)The equipment was very old-fashioned by our standards.by British/African etc standardsClass sizes are small by British standards.
Examples from the Corpus
standard• If the pilot has not been trained to normal airline standards, he will not be employed by us.• The organisation published a draft standard on computer graphics at the end of March.• Judges remarked on the high standard of this year's entries.• All his work is of a very high standard.• The industry standard of temperature for shipping produce is 41 degrees Fahrenheit.• Ministers have shifted their focus from primary standards to the lack of pupil progress at key stage 3.• Months of wrangling over new production standards for the vaccine and new inspection procedures followed.• Air quality standards vary from state to state.• Safety standards are simply not being maintained.• They need a person who sets standards of competence and integrity to be aimed at.• In reading tests, 15% of school students were found to be below the standard for their age.• Many Europeans who consider themselves to be poor are rich by the standards of some Third World countries.• Shakespeare is the standard against which all playwrights must be measured.• I'm afraid you haven't quite reached the standard required for the job.• The standard of workmanship on this table is extraordinarily high.• I'm afraid your driving isn't yet up to standard.• Similarly, your internal editor insists that you create documents based on equally arbitrary and unattainable standards.• Many of them are of a Victorian standard and need considerable investment.standard of• The agency establishes and enforces standards of food production.standardstandard2 ●●● S2 W2 adjective 1 NORMALUSUALLYaccepted as normal or usual We paid them the standard rate.standard practice/procedure (=the usual way of doing things) Searching luggage at airports is now standard practice. The format is fairly standard.► see thesaurus at normal2 USUALLYregular and usual in shape, size, quality etc OPP non-standard We make shoes in standard and wide sizes. All these vans are made to a standard design.3 SEa standard book, work etc is read by everyone studying a particular subject4 SLthe standard form of a language is the one considered to be correct and is used by most people OPP non-standard the standard spelling standard English pronunciationExamples from the Corpus
standard• Most industrial/commercial concerns will have such standard costs calculated for their ranges of products.• Students are encouraged to learn standard English because this is what they will need to know in the business world.• Supermarkets typically have six standard food departments.• A work week of forty hours is standard in the U.S.• You must know the rules and be familiar with standard market terminology.• Prices start at $15,489 for the standard model.• Letters can be compiled from standard paragraphs stored in the memory.• All hand-baggage was X-rayed - this is now standard practice at most airports.• Drug tests are a standard procedure following train accidents.• In telephone and face-to-face selling standard sales pitches are used, regardless of the specific needs of the customer.• standard size paper• We make shoes in all standard sizes.standard practice/procedure• Probyn's technique, controversial though it has been, was once virtually standard practice.• Such abbreviated language is standard practice and will be widely adopted in the remainder of this book.• This is standard practice, but such an event is unlikely.• Win had also used a false name through the years, standard practice for officers engaged in covert work.• Bail conditions appear also to have become a standard practice in public order cases.• The first is the wide variation in specification and finish that are standard practice in the motor industry.• Again this is a standard procedure throughout Grimes.• One standard procedure would be to see if your inspectors' judgments matched other evidence.Standard, TheThe StandardStandard, The → Evening Standard, TheFrom Longman Business Dictionarystandardstan‧dard1 /ˈstændəd-ərd/ noun1[countable, uncountable] a level of quality, skill, ability, or achievement by which someone or something is judged, and that is considered good enough to be acceptableThe airline has rigorous (=very strict) safety standards.standard ofWe take pride in the high standards of service offered to clients.Her work was not up to standard (=good enough).The Law Council sets standards for equal opportunity in the legal profession.2[countable] something you use to compare one thing with anotherby somebody’s standardsBy American standards, her salary is pretty low.3[countable] a fixed official measure of weight, purity, value etcan official government standard for the purity of silver → accounting standard → CAT standard → gold standard → monetary standard → Trading Standardsstandardstandard2 adjective1accepted as normal or usualIt’s standard practice (=the usual way of doing things) to employ people on a freelance basis.We paid them the standard rate for the job.2regular and usual in shape, size, quality etcWe make shoes in standard and wide sizes.All these vans are made to a standard design.Origin standard1 (1100-1200) Old French estandard “battle-flag” 