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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

run the rule over en · VERB

Pronunciation

Meanings

  1. (idiomatic, transitive) To examine carefully and thoroughly.
    • The doctor found his patient propped up on a doorstep. Having, as he expressed it afterwards, "run the rule over him," he prescribed a glass of water and an hour's rest. The man was shaken, that was all. 1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC:
    • The captain used to to^([sic]) run the rule over every new recruit, like a protective father inspecting the boy his darling daughter had brought home to tea. He was obsessive about it. 2018 May 4, Tom English, “Steven Gerrard: A 'seriously clever or recklessly stupid' Rangers appointment”, in BBC Sport:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
running the rule over Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
runs the rule over Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
run the rule over Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
ran the rule over Tense=Past lexicographic